Thorn Latch
by Fortune
Summary: Sequel to Petal Hinges! After Shadow's best intentions lethally backfire, Amy risks more than she realizes to help him. #CO2#
1. The Garden

Part 1 - Sowing

Chapter 1 – The Garden

He'd overdone it.

With staggering breaths, Shadow the hedgehog forced his trudge onward through the scarcely populated Mobian countryside. That morning had been the last spent in the shoddy apartment of a human construction worker named Phil, who'd taken him in following a gruesome injury that had nearly claimed his life. Having healed just enough to travel, Shadow had made his way through the world portal to where he now strained against the rapidly intensifying pain. His gliding had long since reduced to unsteady steps as the stitched wound on his abdomen and anemic haze begged for him to stop. There was nowhere suitable to rest, though, and the late morning sun now weighed brutally on his dark quills from overhead. He finally toppled beside a tiny flower garden, landing hands and knees atop the peachy ruffles of blooming begonias. Head down, he heaved several deep breaths in an attempt to regain his bearings.

He didn't notice someone emerge from the nearby home built into the earthen ledge overlooking the yard, nor did he hear her approach. He became aware of her presence with the sound of her horrific gasp upon discovering his own.

"Oh my gosh!! _I JUST PLANTED THOSE!!!_"

Shadow didn't even have time to look up before a boot-clad foot met the side of his head, knocking him off the crushed flowers onto his side. He blinked through dizziness, beholding his unexpected assailant. Crouching beside the flattened blossoms, cupping them with her garden-gloved hands, a strikingly beautiful beige opossum in a colorful summer dress spoke to them soothingly. "Poor things…." Slowly, he brought his knee forward and began to push himself upright. The opossum turned from her flowers, her eyes widened into a cross between surprise and mild curiosity, almost as if she'd forgotten he was there. "…You okay?" He ignored her as he righted himself to a kneeling position, then paused with eyes shut as the dizziness overtook him again. "…Huh…didn't mean to kick ya_that_ hard…." She stumbled to her feet. "Here, uh, lemme help ya up…." Shadow jerked his arm away as she began to take hold, then extended it to catch himself as his balance gave out once more. The opossum took a step back, now noticing dark drops of blood on the grass beside him. She followed the trail with her eyes to the slightly torn wound across his belly. Her mouth went crooked with disgust as she stood watching him silently for several seconds. "……You really shouldn't be goin' out in that condition!" she finally blurted, followed by another long pause. "Ahh…sorry about kickin' you…I didn't know you were hurt…." She leaned over beside him, her thick braid sliding over her shoulder into a wobbly dangle. "Can I help you? ………………………Can you talk?" Shadow opened his eyes and glared into hers, then shifted his gaze onto a watering can held in the grip of her long tail. He hadn't had anything to drink for hours.

"Could I get some water?" he asked hoarsely. The opossum's brow lifted.

"Water? All right." She straightened herself and trotted back to her home to fetch some, the can sloshing with each step. Shadow dropped his head and sighed.

As he consumed his fill of mineral-rich well water she'd brought, the opossum brushed one of the two strands of hair draped before her eyes aside, her expression much more pleasant. "My name's Maple," she introduced herself, her demeanor adopting a shy contour. She waited for him to give his own name, but he didn't. He'd had more than enough of this flake. Feeling his balance returning, he set down the cup and got to his feet. He glanced at Maple and made little effort to warm his cold tone.

"Thank you."

As he turned and walked away, she called after him, "Well wait a minute, you should rest yourself before you head out! You're just gonna end up in someone else's yard if you go on like that!" Receiving no acknowledgement of her words, she followed him and pressed on, "Or at least have somethin' for lunch! I just made chicken n' dumplin's, and you're welcome to have some! There's a whole lot!" At last, he came to a stop. He hadn't eaten in several hours either, his only breakfast that morning having been four slices of raw wheat bread. He stood with his back still facing her, considering her offer. His mind was still very woozy, his wound ached, he was starving, and there was no telling how long he would have to go before his next meal if he passed this one up. There didn't seem to be any harm in accepting.

"…I can stay for lunch," he finally replied as he turned about. Maple nodded with a half smile.

"All right, then! But this is just lunch, now, not a floozy invitation!" She turned and started back for her home. "I can't tell you how many times my hospitality has been taken for that."

Shadow shook his head as he followed, regretting his decision already.

Maple's home was an elaborate den of sorts, burrowed into the side of an eight-foot ledge and extending several feet below. A large oak tree was its towering roof, the giant's massive roots forming a makeshift staircase to the top of the ledge. Shadow was greeted with a chicken-tainted musty odor as he stepped in the front door. The inside was dim and damp. He found himself glad it wasn't it a cheery, sun-soaked country cottage like he'd half expected.

In the kitchen, Maple pulled a chair for her guest out from the meager wooden table. The scent of the dumplings was now thick and intoxicating. She stirred it with a ladle and dipped some out into a bowl as he took his seat, then sprinkled an appetizing dash of herbs and set it before him before serving herself. A pitcher of sweet tea and two glasses, forks, and spoons soon joined them. "Sorry it's not much," she muttered as she finally seated herself. "Normally when I have guests I try to make it more…well rounded." Shadow speared a dumpling and nearly had it to his mouth when the inevitable question came. "So what's your name?" He drew a quiet breath, then voiced the first stupid thing that came to mind.

"Joe."

"Joe? How'd you get that big cut?"

"I fell."

"Fell on what?"

"A rake."

"Mmm," Maple answered, her mouth full. "I stepped on a rake once. 'Bout knocked myself out! Hee-ee!" He took advantage of her moment of silent recollection to eat. It was brief. "So where ya from?"

Only after he'd taken his time to chew and swallow came his reply. "…Outer space."

Maple snorted as her hand clapped down on the table. "You're makin' this up!" Ironically, it'd been the only answer he hadn't. Noting that he did not share her amusement, she lowered her eyes to her bowl. "I guess I'm bein' kinda nosey…." she recognized sheepishly. The remainder of the meal progressed in awkward silence.

She's an excellent cook, Shadow thought to himself, though he was unsure whether it was that or the fact that he'd been subjected to Phil's cooking for so long. Beauty _and_ talent—interesting. Judging by her appearance, she was probably a few years older than him, as far as aging went, at least. Flaky or not, it seemed odd that she wasn't-

"You like chocolate??" Maple suddenly inquired.

Shadow blinked. "It's all right…."

"I just remembered I've got some chocolate sugar cookie dough in the freezer! That'd make a perfect dessert! I'll toss 'em in the oven real quick and they'll be ready in no time; 'kay? Don't run off!"

At this point he wasn't about to go anywhere; he felt like he could fall asleep right at the table. Minutes later, that was exactly what he did, his face resting in his folded arms. After a while he was roused by a hand shaking his arm "Joe? I've got a spare bed that's a lot more comfortable." He was too incoherent to really comprehend or form an opinion of the concept, but he managed to blankly follow her lead to the neighboring room. The bed was just big enough for one, its frame built into the wall and only inches from the floor…ideal for crashing. He leaned until he fell over into it, bouncing once on its stiff springs. Ah yes, much better….

When Shadow opened his eyes, he had no idea how much time had passed. The room was brightened by sunshine peeking in one of the few windows. Maple was nowhere in sight, but he could hear footsteps in another room, along with the creak of a door. He pushed off the bed to his feet and followed the sounds into what he discovered to be her bedroom. As he stepped inside, however, all was quiet. His ears turned, listening, but there wasn't another sound in the entire house. He blinked, eyebrow cocked, and walked out of the room. A quick tour of the rest of the place turned up nothing either. Maple wasn't even home. He pondered the origin of the sounds for only a few moments longer before directing his attention to his departure. He needed to find someplace where he could fully recover before returning to Earth…to take care of unfinished business. He made his way to the front door and swung it open, finding himself face to face with Maple. Both recoiled, and Maple dropped several of the yams in her arms.

"_Geez loo-eeze!!_" she practically shrieked, "You scared the livin' daylights outta me!!"

"Hmph," was Shadow's only response before crossing his arms and changing the subject. "What time is it?"

"…It's about six thirty," Maple answered from the floor as she retrieved her yams. Shadow blinked, a bit taken aback.

"I was asleep over six hours…?"

"Nooo," she corrected, "you were asleep all night. It's six thirty in the morning."

Shadow's jaw dropped and arms broke apart. He brushed past her and peered out the door at the rising sun. "…Damn…." Apparently he'd worn himself out more than he realized.

"You must have been pretty exhausted," she shared his sentiment, her voice taking on a hint of humor.

Then another thought occurred to him. "Does anyone else live here?"

"Hm? No, why?"

"I thought I heard someone walking around…I know I heard it…but you weren't here."

"Ohhh," she acknowledged, standing back up, "that must've been the haunt." She strode toward the kitchen with her yams. Shadow remained in the doorway, his brow low.

"The what?"

"The haunt."

He quietly mimicked her drawl, not understanding. "Hawn...?" _Oh. Haunt._ "You mean…like a ghost?" he called after her.

"Yeah," she called back. "It makes all kinds of noises, like someone's walkin' around and messin' with stuff, and every single morning when I get up, the closet door is open." She emerged from the kitchen and walked up to the door to which she'd referred. "This one right here. Every morning."

Shadow made a face. If he hadn't heard it for himself, he would've thought her to be even more off than he already did. But he'd had enough of the subject; it was time to focus on more important things.

"…I need to head out. Thank you for your hospitality."

Maple hurried after him as he began to depart. "Oh, Joe, wait! There's somethin' I was wantin' to ask you." She hesitated slightly as he paused and peered back at her. "Ahmm…you're not lookin' for work, are you? I was wondering if maybe you'd like to be a caretaker for my garden. I've been needing one for a while now."

Shadow recalled the begonias he'd crushed on his arrival. The flower bed wasn't even five feet long; she couldn't possibly need a caretaker for that. He pondered her motives as she continued, "I don't have much in the way of money, but if you do this for me you can stay here for free. How does that sound?" The offer was exceptionally generous—suspiciously generous. Maple laughed a bit, seemingly unfazed by his trademark leer. "Well here, lemme show you the garden!" She led the way out of the house and ascended the oak root steps. He followed, blinking in disbelief when he reached the topside of the ledge. The _real_ garden was enormous, stretching across well over an acre of land. Crops of every variety adorned the neatly plowed rows. He could only say one thing.

"You're out of your mind…."

"So they keep saying," she replied smugly, gazing in adoration of her work. "Well, how 'bout I throw in free meals? And you can help yourself to anything in the garden."

The job would obviously entail a great deal of work…but the incentive was exactly what he needed: a low-key location in which his basic needs would be met until he'd made his recovery. He stood overlooking the site in silent consideration, then turned to her.

"Deal."


	2. The Wait

Chapter 2 – The Wait

Sonic's stoic face leaned against the frosty pane of the Thorndykes' guest lounge window as he sat upon its sill watching the flurries dance by. The late December weather had developed a particularly nasty bite, unusual for the region. Under average conditions, Station Square enjoyed temperatures of over 60 degrees this time of year.

The snow…he longed to be out in it. He longed to run. His distant mind envisioned a fond memory from his days in Knothole., when he was 11 or 12, and a heavy snowfall had just blanketed the village. His friends were out playing and throwing snowballs together, blissfully unaware of his approach. He caught them all completely off guard, plowing through the snow bank beside them like a wayward rocket. When he looked back, every last one of them was covered from head to toe, standing motionless in shock. He'd laughed so hard that he couldn't get away before they caught him and returned the favor.

Nothing doing this year. It'd been almost two months since Shadow dealt the blow that had broken several ribs and left a hole in his sternum, and it still hurt just to cough. Along with his frustration was the fear that, when Shadow returned for round two, he wouldn't be ready. If he were to come busting into the mansion right now bent on slaying him and Amy, there'd be almost nothing he could do about it.

"Here you are!" Amy chirped as she lifted the curtain. She wore a powder blue maternity dress, compliments of the Mobian Research Team, over her very round belly. "C'mon, we're getting ready to open presents!" Sonic eased down from the window and walked with her to the twinkling Christmas tree, where Chris, his parents, his grandfather Chuck, his uncle Sam, his aunt Laci, and Ella and Mr. Tanaka sat conversing and laughing.

"Oh, you found him?" Chris acknowledged their arrival, jumping to his feet. "All right, time to hand out the presents!!" He took hold of the packages on the outer edges of the tree skirt and handed them over to the appropriate recipients, then proceeded to crawl under the Douglas fir sniper-style to retrieve the rest. The room filled with the racket of ripping paper and crumpling shrink wrap.

"Oh, wow," Mr. Thorndyke conveyed genuine surprise at his new cordless electric razor. "Self cleaning! Thanks, Son." Chris grinned widely.

"Whoever got me the sausage tray, I'm a vegetarian now," Laci announced.

"Oh, I forgot…." Sam lamented. "Can your husband eat it?"

"I'm divorced now too."

Amy squealed, "Ohhhhhh, how adorable! Look, Sonic, a hedgehog baby blanket! --And matching booties! Awwwwwwwwww!! Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Thorndyke!"

"You're welcome, dear," Mrs. Thorndyke replied as she picked through a tin of candy ribbons. "We had it custom made in Romania. The edges are genuine silk."

Chris sniffed a box from Amy. "Oh man, is this your candy cane cake?!" he asked excitedly.

"Mm hmm! Sorry it's not much," Amy's voice was meek with embarrassment.

"No, this is excellent! Thanks!!"

"Hope you gave me one too!" Sam chimed in. Amy giggled and nodded.

Sonic tilted an odd contraption in his hand. "Uhh…thanks, Chuck! …How's it work?"

The old man laughed. "It's a quill sharpener! Just fit the open end over the tip of the quill and twist!"

Sonic gave a comprehending nod. "Ohhhh! Sweet, can't wait to try it out on this one!" His hand reached behind him and rubbed a large nub on his back, new growth of a quill claimed by the MRT.

Many more gifts and comments were exchanged throughout the hour, until at last Chris pointed his thumb to the floor above.

"You two ready to start on the rest of your presents now?" he asked Sonic and Amy, who balked teasingly.

"I think we'll hold off on those," Amy laughed. She attempted to curl her arm around Sonic's, but he pulled away. He never tolerated displays of affection from either of them in front of others. Unfortunately, with the MRT's presence and the ongoing festivities, there hadn't been much in the way of privacy, which had left Amy feeling a little starved. She pouted at his withdrawal for a few moments, then lit up with an idea. "Oh, I can feel the baby kicking!" It was more of a nudge, really, but she'd exaggerated for the attention.

"Ohh, let me feel," Ella shuffled over and placed her hand on Amy's belly. "…Ahhhh, feels like it's trying to turn!"

"Come listen, Sonic!" Amy urged. After Ella finished, he leaned in carefully and placed his ear against her.

"Hm!" he snorted through his simper. Everyone watched in eager silence. "He says 'Enough of this; I'm hungry!'" The family sounded its collective amusement.

Amy's eyes squinted as she smirked. "How do you know it's a boy?"

"Pfft, count on it!" He sat back confidently.

Mr. Tanaka straightened his glasses. "Are you going to have an ultrasound done?"

"They wanted to," Amy spoke of the MRT reps, "but I decided not to. I want it to be a surprise, for everyone!"

"Well then I guess we'll see if Sonic's prediction holds true," Mr. Thorndyke stated mildly.

Laci blinked, looking bored. "When are you due?"

"About a month," Amy answered. Her hand slid over the bulge endearingly.

Everyone pitched in to round up the mess of paper, ribbon, boxes, and bows, then cleared out of the den to celebrate the rest of the day trying out their gifts. Sam followed Sonic and Amy to the guest lounge, observing quietly as she settled into the suede couch and he returned to the window.

"Sonic," Sam addressed the blue hedgehog as he approached, "I've still got to give you my present. It wouldn't fit under the tree."

Sonic's ears perked up, curious. "Oh?"

Sam nodded. "Come with me." He took Sonic outside and had him get into his super speed-optimized police car. Sonic found it interesting that he'd driven it to the mansion to begin with. "I made some arrangements," Sam explained as they pulled out. "See, you and I are alike in that we both live on speed. We have to have it. Being cooped up with your injuries has got to be driving you nuts; am I right?" Sonic emitted a short laugh and nodded. "I thought so. Well, hopefully this little deal will be the next best thing for you."

Miles away, they pulled onto a long, winding road that had been closed to the public by barricades. Sam narrowed his eyes as he stared upon it. "Today my name is Thrill Chaser. Care to see how fast this baby can go?"

Sonic grinned. "Go for it!"

Thrill Chaser's foot mashed the gas.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Christmas Day was unheard of in Mobius before the world became merged with Earth. Even now there were still many Mobians for whom it remained completely foreign, Maple being among them. The climate stayed warm year round in her region, so this day saw business conducted as usual. Shadow noted the date but never saw fit to bring it up.

The two had spent the day harvesting turnips and eggplants and preparing them for sale at the farmer's market, in which Maple participated every weekend. The work had gone well, but at its end he kneeled in a chair with the side of his head pressed against the kitchen table while she tweezed at a tick in his ear.

"_Rrrrn!!_ Just pull it out!!" he growled through his clenched teeth.

"You can't just pull it out! You have to get the head!" she snapped back. "Hold still or I'm never gonna get it!!" Her other hand's grip on his face tightened as she leaned in. Several tense seconds later, she lifted the tweezers with the tiny arachnid in their grasp. "There!!" she exclaimed triumphantly. Shadow shoved her hand off as he quickly stood up, vigorously rubbing his sore ear. Maple snorted and turned to wash the tick down the sink. "Now was that so horrible?"

He wouldn't even look at her. "Hmph…I hate you," he uttered as he strode out of the room. Maple broke into a coy smile.

"You're welcome!" she called sweetly after him.

Her response didn't surprise him; it had become their routine. Over the two months since they'd met, Shadow had found that Maple was not put off in the least by his lack of social grace. In fact, she seemed to have a knack for perceiving the actual intentions behind his words and deeds. He, in turn, had developed a complementary tolerance for her offbeat personality. It had made for a unique friendship. Each interaction between them was a psychological tango in which endearment was extracted from words and tones tucked in the pretense of animosity. In a sense, he really had thanked her.

Shadow emerged from the earthen homestead and effortlessly scaled the root steps to its shady roof. Except for some mild tenderness and the superficial mark, his wound was fully healed. Even the stitches had disintegrated. He sat leaning against the tree trunk, staring across the dusk-hued span of the massive garden as he contemplated his next move.

She was due soon. He wasn't sure when she had conceived, but if she was already showing by the time he'd encountered her in the park, the baby could not be more than a couple more months off. The baby…a disgusting cross between her and Sonic…was the perfect target. He could realize his revenge against them both while minimizing risk of another injury, all in one fell swoop. A cheap shot? Perhaps…but a devastating shot nonetheless. All he had to do was wait a little longer, which suited him just fine. Revenge was a dish best served cold anyway.

"What are you smilin' at?" Maple's sass carried from just around the tree. "Didn't think you were capable."

"You're about to find out what I'm capable of," Shadow retorted, raising a fist.

"Hm! Keep it up," she stepped over and dropped down in typical fashion beside him, "and you'll be having rotten turnips for supper." She frivolously flicked one of the strands in her face aside.

"What'd you make?" He peered at her.

"Spinach casserole."

"Bleh," he expressed, turning away. It was actually his favorite dish. "…Guess I'll go suffer through some." He pushed himself to his feet and hopped off the ledge behind them.

"Uh! Thanks for waiting for me!" She staggered to her feet and made her way down after him.

Two more months would suit him just fine.


	3. The Big Surprise

Chapter 3 – The Big Surprise

Shadow opened his eyes, unsure why he'd awakened. It was still early morning, well before sunrise, but there was just enough moonlight that he could see across the room from where he lay in bed. A brief, high-pitched squeak pierced the silence as the closet door opened just a tiny bit. Shadow stared, his quills bristling. He'd never gotten quite used to that.

His discomfort was systematically crowded out of his thoughts with another concept. It was February 23rd. It was time. Being a Saturday, Maple would be heading out for the farmer's market first thing and wouldn't be back until late afternoon. The trip to Station Square would take about four hours each way, though; unless everything went perfectly, it wouldn't be long enough for him to get there and back before she came home. But…why come back? This place had served its purpose, yet he found himself reflexively inclined to return. He considered it further. The work wasn't particularly thrilling, but the bed was comfortable, the food was excellent, and the company…was in a class by itself. His relationship with Maple was unlike any other. She was his boss, but she was also more than that. They shared an eccentric intimacy that wasn't quite confined to the boundaries of friendship but was by no means beyond plutonic. Essentially, she understood and accepted him for who he was—though just about everything she thought she knew about him was a lie. There was a measure of guilt rooted in that fact, as well as the fact that she'd be stuck doing all the work alone again if he left. It wouldn't hurt to stay at least until he'd secured better living arrangements, he eventually decided.

Unable to get back to sleep, he wrenched out of bed and wandered outside to his usual spot atop the ledge. Distant flashes of lightning betrayed a dense bank of clouds looming on the western horizon, beckoned eagerly by the resounding chorus of tree frogs in Crawdad Creek's valley to the east. He looked on, deeply entranced.

_Yes…it's time…time to unleash the fury that thunders within…to darken their door with the storm of vengeance and leave laid to waste what they cherish most_….

The kitchen table rattled to a powerful rumble as Maple set breakfast on it hours later.

"Heck of a day to go to the market," she griped. She glanced at Shadow, half expecting a snide comment, but he sat silent. She crossed her arms and raised her voice. "I _said_ heck of a day to go to the market."

"I heard you the first time," he stated plainly.

"Coulda fooled me, zombie," she returned, sitting with her own plate. "What's the matter; you scared of thunderstorms? Need me to hold your hand, Joey?"

Shadow's crimson eyes darted to her. If he'd known he'd be stuck with the name this long he would've picked a better one. "…I'm not feeling well." The sentence came out slowly and was accented with another rumble.

She eyed his scrambled eggs; he'd hadn't but a few bites. She wasn't sure whether it was the storm or the way he was twisting his fork, but she found herself disturbingly uneasy in his presence for the first time.

"Get some rest," she urged him, "and if you get to feelin' better go ahead and do what you can…but don't go out if it's stormin'…I don't wanna come home and find you struck by lightning." Her casual demeanor returned as she popped a fluffy forkful of eggs in her mouth. "Mmm…this could use some grape jelly!"

Once the worst of the storm had passed, Maple headed out for the farmer's market. Shadow waited until she disappeared around the bend, then set off on his own dark journey. The torrential rains and lightning had deteriorated into light showers, but even the smallest drops stung his face as he picked up gliding momentum. He was glad to finally travel outside its range, only to get caught in a tropical downpour upon reaching the Mystic Ruins. He boarded the shuttle train dripping wet, and as he exited on the other side of the portal the chilly wind assaulted him and his damp fur. No matter; all he needed now was a place where he could do some research…preferably a warm, dry, indoor place.

Returning to a local library he'd once used in his attempt to track down Amy, Shadow seated himself at a free Internet terminal and typed her and Sonic's names as keywords into the news archive's search engine. If she had given birth, it'd surely be listed here. The inquiry dutifully returned a birth announcement, recording the baby boy's birthdate as January 22. Even more interesting, however, was an article that also turned up, providing additional details on the circumstances. Among other things, the Thorndykes' residence was mentioned. Shadow read with growing intrigue. He wondered how many other papers had also published an article on the event. With some more time and effort, he uncovered and read through 55 more. Oddly, none of them provided any more information on the newborn besides what he'd already gotten out of the announcement, but they'd all verified one important detail: They were at the Thorndykes'.

It was going on 3:00 by the time Shadow stepped out of the library. The deed would best be carried out after dark, which at this time of year was only about an hour away. To stave off his appetite in the meantime, he hit up the food court of an area mall for samples, much in the fashion to which he'd grown accustomed at Seabright Beach.

During this same hour, Maple's sales at the farmer's market were enjoying their peak. Her regular customers happily commented on her sudden increase in variety, and she happily informed them of her new farmhand.

"I gots me a handsome new helper," she'd tell them in the cutesy dialect, her hands clasped before her. "The High One dropped him right out of the sky into my flowers one day, just for me! He's a big help around the garden!"

Her audience might have laughed the claim off had the proof of _someone's_ help not been undeniably present. Their responses were always the same. First came the doubtful look, then the uncertainty, followed by the questions.

"What's his name?" most would ask.

"Joe."

"What is he?" often came next, or the more carefully worded, "Is he a possum?"

"No, no," Maple would laugh to the latter, "he's a hedgehog."

"And he just showed up one day…?" Something along these lines typically prodded for clarification of how they'd met. She'd then tell them the basic story, leaving out the part where she'd kicked him in the head and decidedly irrelevant details such as his bleeding injury. The more convinced they became that her new hand was indeed real, the more concern crept into their expressions. The conversations would taper off under the same sentiment: "I'd like to meet him," or "You should bring him along sometime." It was always left at that.

As the day wore on, the winter sun sank and hid itself from Station Square. Shadow perched upon the lofty roof of the Thorndyke mansion, fighting off the knot being tied in his gut. He'd come all this way; he was going through with it. He found one of the upstairs windows left conveniently unlocked and let himself in, winding up in a small room piled high with gift-wrapped packages of all shapes and sizes. Voices echoed from downstairs, but otherwise the coast was clear. He crept out of the room, adrenaline coursing his veins. The very next door was that of the nursery; they'd made it far too easy. Past all hesitation, he strode up to the sleeping infant…and froze. His wide eyes fastened unblinking on the tiny hedgehog, taking in to his astounded disbelief the one thing he'd failed to consider. The baby's jet black body, accented with metallic red quill nubs and a matching tuft on his chest, left no question. _He was looking at his own son._

This changed everything. Even his bitter lust for revenge wouldn't drive him to slay his own flesh and blood. …But he didn't want to leave him here either. The notion of his child being raised by Sonic left an ugly sneer across his snout. It was out of the question.

Shadow remained lost in thought as Dr. Garrett, the head of the Mobian Research Team's medical unit, strolled back into the nursery. Both froze as their eyes met.

"No…!" Dr. Garrett uttered, fearing the worst. He came at Shadow, who leapt and lunged at him in a rolled up homing attack. The impact sent the doctor slamming against the table behind him, slinging a multitude of medical supplies to the floor. As he lay groaning, Shadow quickly turned back to the baby, who'd been awakened and begun crying. In a split-second decision, he grabbed his son and fled the way he'd come.

The dark of night had just settled over Maple's farm as she sat in her home fretting. It was almost 9:00, and there was still no sign of the hand she'd bragged about all day. The tools were still in the storage shed, and all of nothing had gotten done in the garden. She didn't know whether to be angry or worried, but with each passing minute she leaned for the latter. It suddenly occurred to her just how little she really knew about Joe…where he came from, what kind of life he'd led, and why they'd ended up crossing paths in the first place. What did it all mean, and where was it all headed? In her mounting fear she began to realize that her feelings for him were deeper than mere admiration...that she really was beginning to see him as the handsome prince with whom she'd live happily ever after. But that was silly, she told herself. What kind of signal had he ever given that he wanted to raise a family with her?

A thud at the front door sprang her from her thoughts. She scrambled to her feet just as it was forced open, by Shadow's foot. His arms were full, securely holding his crying son.

Maple blinked.

So much for that question.


	4. The Moment of Truth

Chapter 4 – The Moment of Truth

Maple barely got two words out of her mouth before Shadow cut her off.

"_Say __**nothing**_," he growled, stepping past her now speechless gape. "I've had a really shitty night, and I don't feel like explaining it." He crouched by his bed and lay his son there, who continued to whine. Hanging his head over the infant, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. The image of Amy sobbing helplessly on the bridge was burned into his mind. Seemed he'd exacted his revenge after all, but the morbid gratification hadn't come with it. As he hovered there in exhaustion with the baby screaming right into his ears, he almost felt like crying himself. Everything had happened so quickly…he'd made a mess of the abduction, lost his beach house and everything in it, and now here he was, holding a kid he had no clue how to raise.

Maple approached carefully, finally daring to speak. "…What's its name?"

After a few moments of silence, Shadow broke into hollow laughter. He didn't even know. Maple backed away, perturbed.

"It doesn't matter…" he finally answered, calmer. "He's mine now."

Elsewhere in Mobius, Sonic burst through the doors of a familiar workshop.

"Tails??"

His voice bounced off the steel walls of the fox's hangar, to no response. He whirled around in growing frustration. "Of all the freakin' times for him to be gone!!" He'd hoped to use the X-Tornado to conduct an aerial search for Mercury. The last few hours, as far as he was concerned, had been all but wasted talking with the authorities when he could have been out looking. _Nothing_ was going right. The RFID chip implanted in the baby had only tracked him as far as the world portal; on the other side, it was useless. While it was possible to reconfigure the tracking device to work in Mobius, what few satellites orbited the world were under the control of Dr. Eggman, and Sonic wasn't about to count on his cooperation. He came out of Tail's workshop and hopped onto its roof, thinking he might spot him. "TAAAAILS!" he shouted through his cupped hands. Some startled birds flew from where they'd perched on the runway, but otherwise he got nothing. He'd just have to do things the old-fashioned way.

Dust trailed over a mile behind him as he navigated Mobius' vast terrain on foot. Following the well-traveled path, he wound up in the outskirts of a bustling metropolis. Mobians were everywhere, flowing endlessly through the streets like a living river. He scanned the area and questioned several individuals, but no one recalled seeing a black and red hedgehog with a matching baby. Another two hours went down the drain before he finally decided to double back and see if Tails had returned to his workshop yet. On the way, however, he noticed a smaller, lighter trail branching from the main one that he'd completely overlooked the first time through. Glancing ahead of it, all he could see were a few isolated lights pinned against the night. The area obviously wasn't well populated, but it was worth a look.

He could hardly see where he was going. Was he even on the trail anymore? His foot rammed into something, sending him flying. He curled himself and landed as a ball that rode out the momentum, right into the side of a hay bale. His head popped out of the top as bits of straw landed around him. This was farmland…no wonder there were so few residences. He crawled out of the hay and checked his ankle, flexing gently. It ached a bit, but it seemed to be all right, thankfully. The last thing he needed was another injury. He decided it'd be best to wait until daylight to continue the search.

Shadow, meanwhile, was getting his first taste of fatherhood. He dipped his pinkie into a cup of warm milk and offered the tip to Mercury, who sucked on it eagerly. Every time he removed his finger the baby would start to cry until he brought it back with another drop. Despite his fatigue, or perhaps because of it, he found the sight amusing.

Maple backed in the front door with a box in her arms. "I found it!" She scurried into the kitchen and unpacked the bottles inside, rinsing them in the sink. One was then brought into the living room, where she poured the milk into it and snapped the nipple on top. Shadow received it and gave the baby a proper feeding. "Tomorrow I'll go to town and pick up some more supplies," Maple offered. "He could use some real formula…and gloves and shoes and blankets and toys!" She was in love with the darling already.

"Mm." Shadow kept his eyes on his son.

"Um…did you feel like talking about it yet…?" She wasn't sure how to ask. Shadow blinked thoughtfully, then took a breath.

"My mate left me for another man. She didn't even want the baby. I went to visit and she told me to just take him." It was almost the truth, albeit twisted.

"Oh my gosh…." Maple whispered.

"I don't even know his name."

The opossum lit up. "Then we'll name him!"

A dark glare escaped from the corner of Shadow's eye. Maple started to say something else when a golden stream suddenly volleyed from the infant, leaving a stripe across his father's white chest. The soiled hedgehog's ears folded as he peered down at it. Maple busted out laughing.

"Towel…." he requested in a surgeon's tone.

Early the next morning, Sonic resumed his journey through the cultivated countryside. He ran for over an hour before coming upon a building that actually contained people, which, he was pleased to discover, was a general store. His stomach growled as he headed inside. Several other customers were present, including a silver tabby, a robin, a Dutch rabbit, a whitetail buck and his doe, a salamander, and a bullfrog. He forgot for a moment why he'd initially come there as he scanned the selection of breakfast foods. Mercury resurfaced quickly, however, and he began to wonder sullenly if anyone was feeding him. The cashier, a beaver, smiled as he approached the counter.

"Good morning! What can I help you with today, sir?" she rattled off sweetly.

"I was wondering if you've seen a hedgehog come through here, young adult male, black with red stripes, possibly with a baby," Sonic detailed.

"Hmm, no, I don't believe I've seen any hedgehogs besides yourself in a while," she replied. The salamander looked up from his newspaper at them.

"Are you lookin' for that kidnapper that's in the paper?" the lizard called out.

Sonic turned quickly. "Yeah!"

"I just got through readin' about him. I hope y'all find him and get the baby back safely."

"Oh, thanks," Sonic answered, a bit disappointed that he didn't have anything more useful to say. "Me too." He zoned out for a second, then addressed the cashier again. "Oh, could I get a breakfast burrito?"

"Certainly!" The beaver turned around and reached into a warming oven, retrieving the foil-wrapped meal. She set it on the counter as Sonic leaned over and dug into his sock. "That'll be eight fifty." His eyes bulged for a second until he realized she was referring to Mobian currency. _Aw crap_….

"Uh," he laughed sheepishly, holding up a five dollar bill, "do you take US Dollars?"

"Ahhh…." Her eyes fell on the greenback, then squinted amiably at him as she reduced her voice. "Don't worry about it."

"Really? Heh…thanks! I appreciate it!" He took his breakfast and headed out the door before ripping off its wrapper. Just as he was taking his first bite, he suddenly could have sworn he'd caught the slightest whiff of Shadow's scent. He spun around to see who'd just passed by, finding that it was only an opossum on her way inside. He snorted, figuring it was just the burrito messing with him.

Back at the earthen abode, Shadow had finally gotten the baby to fall asleep and had dozed off next to him. They lay that way on his bed until the slam of the front door jarred him awake. Maple marched in wearing a venomous scowl.

"I think I know what to call the baby," she stated, her voice sharp.

"Hm?" He sat up slowly and rubbed his eye.

"Mercury," she concluded, not waiting for anything more from him. "And while I'm at it, I think I know what to call you too, _Shadow!_"

Now he was definitely awake.

He stared in silence as she went on, "You _kidnapped_ him!! It's all over the news!" The rolled up paper in her hand was slapped flat on the floor. Mercury stirred and began to voice his distress at the commotion. Emitting a single-syllable laugh, Maple turned her burning sienna eyes upwards as if reading the ceiling. "Everything you ever told me was a lie…. I trusted you, let you into my home, cooked for you, gave you a job…and the whole time you were just playin' me for a fool!" Tears began to spill out as her eyes fell back on him.

Shadow glowered at her. "You act as if I owe you something."

The words merged in tandem with her fury, morphing it into a full blown rage. A shrill scream escaped her lips as she charged him, hands extended in anticipation of the target they were about to harm. Shadow quickly snapped to his feet and caught her wrists, forcing them back over her head. She writhed violently with another scream, trying to break free, but he maintained his grip and pulled her to him, then sent her lunging back. The potted dracaena near the front door broke her fall, its soil scattering across the floor. She heaved loudly against Mercury's frightened voice as she struggled to push herself up.

"_GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!! I don't ever want to see your face again!!!_"

She clambered to the door and fled out, leaving it open behind her. Shadow stared for a few moments, then peered down at his son. He was about to pick him up when Maple came dashing back inside, slamming the door once more and immediately flattening her back against it, her eyes frantic.

"_The police are coming!!_"

She ran toward him conveying no thought of the scrimmage that had taken place just seconds before. Diving to her knees, she peeled back the living room rug, revealing a trap door. With her strained tugs, it began to budge open. Shadow helped her pull it up the rest of the way, underneath which was a tiny dirt room partially filled with stacks of canned food. "Get in with him!" she barked. "Hurry!!" Shadow grabbed Mercury and the bottle and jumped down. She pushed the trap door shut over them just as the police knocked on the front door Hastily replacing the rug, Maple took a steadying breath and looked around for anything that might give away the boys' presence. She kicked the newspaper up under his bed. At last, she rushed over to the front door and opened it. Two constables, a raccoon and a wallaby, stood taken aback by her breathless, manic state.

"Good morning, Miss Maple," the wallaby greeted. "…Are you all right?"

"Oh-h, yes, I'm fine," she panted, brushing strands of hair from her flushed face. "I just…knocked over my plant!" She laughed nervously as they peaked in at the mess. "So how've you two been? What brings you all the way out here?"

"We're fine, thank you. We apologize for the interruption and will try not to take too much of your time, but we're currently conducting an investigation of a recent kidnapping and have reason to believe that the perpetrator might have come through this area. There are some reports from local residents that you had claimed hiring a hedgehog recently, and as it turns out, the suspect we're looking for is a hedgehog, so we were wondering if we could have a word with him. Is he here at this time?"

"Uh…yeah," Maple squeaked, "he's—right outside in the garden! Here, I'll take you to him." The constables thanked and followed her up the root steps and past several rows of crops, where she stopped beside a scarecrow resembling a jester in a red vest and purple-striped hat. She turned to them, bearing a lovely grin. The officers stood looking a bit perplexed as their eyes darted about. After a few seconds, Maple elbowed the scarecrow. "Go on and say hi, Joe; don't be rude!" She leaned forward with her hand hiding her mouth from the straw figure and whispered to them, "_He's a little shy!_"

"This is the hedgehog you were talking about…?" the wallaby asked, scratching his long ear.

"Mmmhmm! He's been a big help ever since he showed up! Sorry he's bein' kinda quiet right now. He's not normally like this!"

The constables exchanged cock-eyed glances, then the raccoon spoke. "May we have a look around in the house?"

"Sure!" Maple agreed, leading the way back. She hummed an overly chipper tune along the way. "You two thirsty or anything? Can I get you somethin' to drink?" she asked as she stepped in the front door. They politely declined. "Oh, watch your step; there's soil all over the floor." She moseyed over to the guest bed and took a seat. "Just, uh, do whatever you've gotta do."

In the pitch darkness of the hidden pantry, Shadow had been holding Mercury against his chest to muffle his cries, but hearing Maple's and the officers' voices overhead meant that they, too, could hear through the floor. After the infant refused his bottle, Shadow resorted to plugging his airway for the second time in two days. The first time he'd done it, during his escape from Seabright Beach, had nearly proven fatal…but it was either this or be caught. The seconds were each an eternity as he waited, Mercury struggling in vain against his hand.

"Come _on_…." he hissed under his breath.

At last, the officers had seen enough. They thanked Maple for her cooperation and departed from the home, commenting to each other as they walked down the dirt road.

"I think she's getting worse," the wallaby lamented, finding agreement in his partner's nod. "It's a shame to see someone so young and beautiful messed up like that."

"Yeah it is…."

Maple pulled open the trap door. "They're gone!" Shadow jumped out, relieved to be back in the light and fresh air and that Mercury, though now extremely upset, had pulled through okay. He stood cradling the infant with his back to Maple.

"Thank you…" he expressed, his tone low, "…and……I'm sorry…for lying." With that, he headed for the door.

"Well wait a minute, you can't leave now; they're still out there! And besides, you should get some rest, and the baby too! At least stay for lunch!" she pleaded. Shadow turned around, his mouth contorted in near humor. He'd heard that line before.

"You really are crazy," he uttered in pseudo-animosity.

She shrugged, cracking a smile. "It's got its advantages."

And so it went. Though more wary of her explosive nature, Shadow held a new sense of respect for Maple. Her looking out for him even in the light of his dishonesty had impressed him deeply, which was a key factor in his decision to remain part of the household. In turn, he swore that he'd never lie to her again.

But now came the real test. The next few days were a crash course in parenting and willpower. The crying was the worst; Shadow frequently found himself questioning whether raising Mercury was worth keeping him out of Sonic's hands, but the image of that concept always drove him to press on. He handled the majority of the care himself, but Maple brought home baby formula, diapers, blankets, a set of gloves and shoes, a pacifier, and a selection of toys, carefully acquired from the more distant mass merchandise retailer so as not to arouse suspicion among the locals. At the end of the first week, Mercury was a clean, warm, well dressed, and accessorized noisemaker. Outside of Maple's efforts, not much got done in the garden.

Throughout the second week, Maple kept mostly outside, resting her ears and allowing the shreds of Shadow's patience to be devoted where they were needed most.

By the end of the third week, they'd switched places, with Shadow outside pulverizing cabbages while she suffered.

Finally, about a month had passed, and things were starting to get a little easier—or perhaps just more routine. While Mercury napped inside, both of them sat outside under the oak tree, appreciating a much quieter sunset. Crickets and tree frogs lent their soothing piece of the atmosphere.

"Hey, Jo—aheh, I mean Shadow," Maple corrected herself, "…ahh…do you like it here?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't," he answered plainly. She waited, but he didn't say any more.

"Well…it's just…I mean…." she attempted, but she was too nervous to continue. Shadow glanced over with a knitted brow. She turned away slightly lest he see her blushing. "…My life has changed so much since we met…."

His eyes shifted in thought. "Does the baby bother you?"

"No!" she quickly assured him as her head whipped back about. "No, not at all! I'm glad he's here! That's what I'm trying to say……I'm glad you're both here…."

"Oh," he sounded a bit surprised. He let out a near laugh as his eyes returned to the garden. "Strange how it happened. I honestly didn't intend to stay that first day, but I was just so tired…."

Maple bit her lip. "Ehh…actually…I have a little confession to make." She fidgeted with her braid as he looked to her. "I…put somethin' in your food to make you fall asleep."

His eyes widened. "Why??"

"…I didn't want you to leave." She was beginning to blush again. "You're not mad, are ya?" He let out a breath and thought for a moment.

"I…don't suppose I have room to talk," he admitted, turning back to the garden.

She nudged him lightly. "Makes us even, right?"

"Hmph." He didn't sound angry, at least. Things weren't going quite as she hoped, but she was inwardly relieved that she hadn't ruined the moment. He was quiet again, seeming to be mulling something over in his mind. Again she waited, but again there were no more words. He merely bent his knees and leaned his folded arms into them.

She needed a different approach. Uncurling her tail from around the tree trunk, she snaked it behind him, over his opposite shoulder. He reflexively flinched away from it as he turned to see what it was, giving her the opportunity to lean in. When he realized it was her tail, he turned back to her, and she was ready. Her tail held fast behind him, preventing him from backing away as her lips caressed his. When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her numbly. A million things must have been going through his mind. She waited, heart throbbing, as he considered the card she'd set before him. He blinked once, then again, and then frowned. He turned sharply as he stood up, so much so that she had to lean back to avoid being scraped by his quills. Just as fast as it had happened, he was gone. Dropping her hands into her lap, Maple leaned her face into the tree and sighed.


	5. The Scorn

Chapter 5 – The Scorn

Barely having slept, Maple emerged from her bedroom early the next morning to a living room strewn with toys. Ugh, she thought irritably, he never cleaned up after playing with Mercury. As she bent over in her robe to pick up a parasect plush, she glanced into the kitchen and saw Shadow sitting at the table, his back to her. On top of the table, Mercury sat comfortably upright, a feat no human baby would be capable of at two months but quite common among Mobians. He toyed with five different vegetables set before him, happily discovering how well he could squeeze, smash, taste, toss, and smack together each one. Maple tossed the plush onto Shadow's bed and approached them.

"Hey there, lil' sweetie pie! Good morning!" she greeted the baby in a high-pitched, syrupy sweet voice, receiving a cooing, gummy smile in return. From the corner of her eye, she could see Shadow's reserved glare. This was usually the point when she would make some kind of teasing verbal jab and he would respond in kind, but neither said a word. She turned away pointedly and headed to the fridge. What, was he too good for that now? She hadn't exactly greeted him, but still! She pulled out a carton of eggs, a partially used stick of butter, and some shredded cheddar and set them on the counter. She'd planned on making crepes today, but she didn't feel like it anymore, proceeding instead to make cheese omelets. A deviant smirk crossed her lips as she cracked a couple of eggs into the mixing bowl, making sure to include a few bits of shell. Minutes later, she was still smiling when she set the finished product before him on the table, which ironically put Shadow a bit more at ease. She diverted her eyes from him quickly lest she find herself admiring his imposing physique.

I'm gonna take him outside today before I get started," he stated while walling off Mercury's reach for his breakfast with one hand. She quickly shifted to a business demeanor.

"Don't take too long; the watermelon needs to be planted today."

"I thought we were doing that tomorrow."

"Well I changed my mind!" She stared brazenly, just waiting for him to say something. He conveyed annoyance as he briefly made eye contact but let it go. The distraction was enough for Mercury to circumvent his father's barrier and sink his grubby hand into midst of the omelet, squealing with delight as cheese oozed out the sides.

"You…!" Shadow scooped up the infant and set him on the neighboring chair. Finding himself unable to squirm off or climb back onto the table, Mercury settled for sucking on his cheese-covered hand.

While the boys were outside following breakfast, Maple resumed tidying up the living room, huffing to herself. What did she see in him anyway? She was better off finding a more conventional country boy who catered to her every fanciful whim…like her previous mate did before he left. Bitter tears formed in her eyes at the memory of her former companion and lover. He'd taken a fancy to another woman, a floozy little harvest mouse, and the next thing she knew, he was gone…. Nothing had been the same for her since. She began to wonder how long it would be before Shadow, too, was nothing more than a painful memory. No…no no NO! She didn't love him, and she didn't care if…he….

Her thoughts fizzled as her foot bumped into something under Shadow's bed. She reached down and pulled it out, finding that it was the newspaper she'd kicked under there the day the police had come. She opened it and reexamined the article on the abduction, along with the accompanying black-and-white photo of Sonic and Amy…Amy Rose…Mercury's mother. Her eyes narrowed. What did this tramp have that she didn't? Well, one thing she certainly had that Amy lacked was the baby, of which she was suddenly maliciously glad. She had the "family"…and perhaps it was only a matter of time before love followed. Take that, Amy Rose.

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Amy Rose walked with an absent gaze along the sidewalk, wandering the wealthy neighborhood that surrounded the Thorndykes' residence. Having sneaked out of the mansion unannounced, she really didn't know where she was going or why. She just…needed to be somewhere…. The trees, the streets, everything seemed to melt by, whirlpooling behind her into a bottomless abyss for all she cared. After a mercifully immeasurable amount of time, her lonely journey brought her by the fenced perimeter of a great cemetery that bordered an old church. She squeezed herself between the metal bars onto the grounds.

Hers wasn't the only heart hurting, the only grief borne in the loss of a loved one. Dozens of untold tragedies surrounded her as she continued forth. What made her so special, that she should see her son again? What made her life unique, that it should have a happy ending? What hope or reason did she have that things would ever get any better—or even should?

Just ahead, the cheery tips of tulip stalks poked from the ground around the base of a towering statue of the angel Gabriel, whose arms were extended before him as if ready to carry someone. Amy slumped into it, sliding down until she was sitting on the ground at its side. She buried her tear-soaked face in her arms, praying for the miracle she didn't deserve.

_Blessed High One, creator of all things who holds life in His sacred hands, please bring my son back to me…please let me hold him in my arms again, at least one last time_….

Her head was spinning as she raised it and opened her eyes. The floral shoots that had just moments ago welcomed her now danced about her mockingly. She could hardly breathe as her wavering gaze continued pleadingly upward into the white sky. It was so pallid and barren…just like her hope... She wondered if her prayer had even reached Him through it. Her body shivered, lost in its despair, until at last the voice of love reached her.

"Amy…?"

Sonic had called out from behind her, not far off. She leveled her head but didn't turn to look. "I wasn't sure if it was you...are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked in a stony tone.

"…Don't go disappearing like that, okay? You kinda freaked everyone out…." He crouched beside her, gently touching his hand to her face. "Let's go home."

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There wasn't much to do on rainy afternoons. Shadow had taken advantage of the opportunity to get in a quick nap while Maple watched Mercury, and a few minutes after waking, he continued to lie in bed, thinking. It was hard to believe he'd had his son in his life for nearly half a year already. The little Spider was making impressive progress, saying simple words and eating soft foods and crawling with the amusing enthusiasm that had earned him his nickname. He'd even begun to attempt toddling, though unsuccessfully thus far.

Shadow peered at Mercury and Maple across the room. The opossum gently pulled Mercury's thumb from his mouth as he attempted to suck on it.

"Don't do that, Sweetie; it's not good for you."

Imposing rules upon Mercury that were not of his making was one thing Shadow had forbidden Maple to do from the beginning. As far as he was concerned, _he _was raising Mercury, not the both of them. She merely helped. His face darkened as he watched her disregard the policy, but he said nothing. He wanted to see what else she did when she thought he wasn't looking.

Finding Mercury uncooperative, Maple stuck her hand through a large horizontal slit in the front of her dress. To someone who wasn't used to being around her this might have been disturbing, but Shadow knew she was merely reaching into her pouch. From it, she pulled out a big, colorful lollipop. "Look what Mommy has for you!"

…That word was the last straw.

"Whatever happened to May-May?" he inquired coldly as he sat up. Maple's face went white as it snapped his way, eyes wide.

"Oh-!! I-I was just…playin' around…!" she stammered.

"May-May!" Mercury happily echoed, reaching for the treat. Shadow got to his feet, crossing his arms and eyeing his son.

"Give it to him."

Maple blinked in sullen silence as she unwrapped the lollipop and handed it to Mercury. Shadow then turned aside and gestured with a nod at his bed. She picked up the baby and brought him over, depositing him on the center of the mattress. "Now let me make something clear for you since you seem to have forgotten," Shadow began as he firmly clutched her arm and escorted her into the kitchen. "You are not his mother, and you will not refer to yourself as his mother, nor will you forbid him anything that I haven't forbidden. If he wants to suck his thumb, you better damn well let him." Maple, who'd been silently hearing out the repercussion, lifted her downcast eyes.

"It's not good for him to do th-'

"There's nothing wrong with it!" he shot back, angrier. "If it makes him happy, just let him do it!" He turned and walked back into the living room, where Mercury was starting to call for someone. Maple frowned at his back, summoning new determination.

"That's not good enough!" she boldly declared. "Maybe you see nothing wrong with it, but I do, and I'm never gonna be okay with somethin' that's bad for him in the long run just because it makes him happy now! If you really care about him, you need to look past what he wants and do what's truly best for him!!"

Shadow now had Mercury in his arms, saying nothing more but meeting her words with a particularly menacing leer. She leered right back, but inside, dread wrenched her gut; experience had taught her that it was when he was silent that she needed to worry most. She dared not say more as he walked outside with his son.

The rain had mostly let up, aside from a directionless misty drizzle. Shadow ascended the ledge and set Mercury down in a relatively dry area between two of the oak tree's protruding roots. The baby hedgie continued to gnaw on the edge of his candy as Shadow took a seat on his right, reaching over and briefly rubbing his head.

Her refusal to cooperate was the last thing he needed right now. About a month ago he'd read in the paper of Sonic and Amy's impending wedding, and he'd been of a rotten disposition ever since. Despite months of trying to convince himself otherwise, the fact remained that he still had feelings for her…and now it was as if what marginal chance he had left, if only imaginary, was forever slipping away. There was only a week left before they sealed the deal. His unsettled mind found Maple's words sinking in all the more, fueling his bitter dismay. The best thing for Mercury…the best thing…was to get the hell out of this dysfunctional excuse for a family, to grow up in the care of a real couple in a stable home, where he would actually have hope of a better life than that of his father. That, ruefully, was the best thing. On another day he would never have given the concept a second thought…and yet it ate at him, the ghost haunting his conscience's closet. He'd grown to love Mercury to an immeasurable degree that rivaled even his regard for Maria…but it was exactly that love that warranted giving him up. In his days of battle and bloodshed, he'd made many difficult decisions—but this one was by far the hardest he'd faced in his life. _If you really care about him, you need to do what's truly best for him_…. Hands over his ears, he leaned into himself until his forehead touched the ground.

The week passed without incident, right up until its end. A full moon shone into the living room window as Shadow crept through, gripping a simple woven basket. He lined it with one of Mercury's fleece blankets and then placed the sleeping baby inside, wrapping him snug. It was the night before Amy's wedding, their final night in Maple's home. He'd decided not to tell her lest she possibly explode again; this was hard enough for him as it was. Without looking back, he quietly strode across the floor and out the front door.

Finding the church as the big day unfolded was no problem; all he had to do was follow the horrendous crowd. He did his best to remain out of sight, though at this point the kidnapping was far from the forefront of most people's minds. Once inside the church, he found a discreet vantage point atop the elevator, from which he could watch people come and go and await his opportunity. It came much sooner than expected.

His eyes widened as Amy suddenly stepped in, donning an opalescent pink bridal gown. She depressed the button for the seventh floor…the top floor…shit. He didn't know how much room would be left above him by the time it reached its destination, but if he didn't do something fast he was about to find out the hard way. Holding Mercury's basket in one hand, he lowered himself from the grid ceiling with the other, right behind Amy. He could barely withstand the gravitational pull. Finally, the elevator jolted to a stop, at which moment he landed, unnoticed. After a brief hesitation, Amy stepped out into the dark corridor, and as she fumbled for the lights, he slipped by. He smirked appreciatively at her horrible sense of smell. It hadn't done anything for her in the beach house either. As the lights on one side of the floor came on, he ducked into the shadows of the other. There he waited, watching, when the elevator soon paid a return visit. A vaguely familiar young rabbit adorned in flowers stepped out. Cream, was it? He sighed through grinding teeth as he wished for her to leave, then realized as he turned his attention back to the corridor that Amy was gone. She'd apparently slipped into one of the nearby rooms. Cream poked her head in and out of a few, calling for her. He hoped she wouldn't spoil his best chance. Then, to his heartening, she made her way back into the elevator. At last it was his turn. Amy's scent led him to the door of a ladies' restroom. After a second's hesitation, he pushed it open in slow motion. The facility was much fancier than expected, boasting among other lavish furnishings an inviting satin sofa of which the seat formed a complete circle. He treaded lightly to it across the plush carpet and set the basket upon it first, then settled into it himself.

This was it. At any moment she'd be making her inevitable return from the adjoining room, and they'd be face to face for the first time since the night he left her sobbing on the bridge. Up until now it hadn't really occurred to him how she might react. Would she be furious and lunge at him like a psychotic possum, or frightened into a screaming hysteria, or be simply elated to see Mercury again? _Mercury_…. On the heels of those thoughts came the sickening realization that this was his final moment with him. His head dropped and fists tightened as he fought for control over the surge of grief. If it got the better of him, he'd just have to walk out. He wasn't doing the melodramatic farewell. His foot bumped the base of the sofa as it shifted back and he propped his elbows over his knees, almost as if to shield his face between them. Then the door opened.

Cream sat with the bridesmaids running her hand through a basket full of fresh rose petals when someone knocked on the door. She peered up as Ella opened it, half expecting to see Amy, but instead it was an unfamiliar human in a tuxedo.

"We're ready to start in ten minutes," he informed the ladies. Cream tensed upright.

"Do you want me to go look for Amy again?" she asked nervously. Before Ella could respond, the bride herself staggered into the room, looking more than a little dazed. Ella wrapped her arms around her as her stride leaned too far to one side and she began to fall.

"Oh my, Amy, are you all right??"

Her face wet and her breathing shallow, she nodded her head several times. Ella's concerned embrace quickly became a hug. "There, there, darling…everything will be all right…. Do you want to delay the ceremony a little while?"

"No," Amy breathed, "no, I'm ready…." She offered a meek smile.

Everything went forward on schedule. Bride and groom flawlessly made their vows, and when it came time for the kiss, Sonic was redder than Amy. He leaned forward and planted a quick peck on her lips, evoking a churchful of laughter. At the reception, Tails gave a truly touching toast that only a best friend could give. And Rouge caught the bouquet—in mid-air, of course.

The jubilee continued on as a hedgehog sat holding his young son upon the church roof. For him it was bittersweet; a chapter of his life had today drawn to a close, but another was just beginning. He smiled at what had turned out to be Amy's gift to him, though he didn't begin to understand why. Did she see something in him as a father that he didn't? A renewed sense of hope dawned in his ability to give Mercury a better life. He just had to make it happen. He pondered carefully where he should go from this point. A mother figure, even a semi-deranged one, was better than nothing, and since he didn't realistically see himself pairing up with another mate anytime soon, it seemed best to return to her, for Mercury's sake. He was through making decisions only for himself.

That evening, Maple sat with a somber face as Shadow let himself in the front door. Though her cheeks were dry now, her eyes were still red and puffy. Neither her head nor eyes turned as she addressed him in a unexpectedly level voice.

"You went to see her, didn't you?"

He came to a gradual stop in the midst of the room. "Yes."

"I didn't think you were going to come back."

"I almost didn't," he admitted, transferring the squirming infant to his other arm. "I came back for his sake." He glanced aside in a moment of thought. "……I want you to be his mother."

Maple's eyes bulged, and in the next instant she was on her feet, running gleefully to them. He quickly extended his free hand to halt her, into which her face nearly plowed.

"_BUT_," he staunchly clarified, "this is not a union. We work as a team, but this doesn't change anything between _us_. Got it?"

Maple backed up a step, blinking disappointedly, but nodded agreement.

"Fine," Shadow confirmed, then handed Mercury over. "Change him for me while I fix him something to eat."

As she lay the flailing, fussy infant on Shadow's bed to change, a smile stretched Maple's lips. It was encouraging progress…she had the family, and now the full mother's role…leaving just one last little thing: his heart. It was not yet ready for her, she knew, because it remained attached to Amy, by a single thread. But no matter; she'd gotten this far, and there was no stopping her now. One way or another, the last string would be cut….


	6. The Missing Peace

**Author's Note: I'd like to extend a very big thanks to all my readers for your compliments and support thus far! They really do mean a lot to me. Hope the five-chapter recap wasn't dragging things out too much, lol! Now that things have caught up to where Petal Hinges left off, we can finally get to the good stuff!**

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Part 2 – Reaping

Chapter 6 – The Missing Peace

"_Can't believe I'm doin' this_…." Sonic muttered into Amy's ear as the two were led by a Mobian Research Team representative through the medical wing of the facility. He kept his eyes low, missing the menacing glance darted to him from the corner of her eye. Upon arriving at an unmarked office, the rep opened the door and showed them in.

"All right, just make yourselves comfortable, and Dr. Ericsson will be with you shortly," the man recited. Amy thanked him as he pulled the door shut and departed. Small and relatively cozy, the room contained little more than a desk that faced two luxurious chairs. The hedgehogs seated themselves, Amy on the left and Sonic on the right.

"I still don't get why the heck you want these people involved," Sonic was the first to break the silence, "especially after what they did to Mercury."

"Well, I think that they honestly had good intentions," she responded, lacing her fingers before her. "I mean, it was bad that they didn't wait for our consent, but it's not like they were trying to hurt him…and in a way it even turned out to be helpful."

He snorted. "Not helpful enough…."

Amy blinked, shifting her eyes away. She hadn't told Sonic of her encounter with Shadow in the church. For all he knew, they still had yet to find a trace of him or Mercury.

"And besides, it's important to make sure nothing's wrong," she added. "If we tried to go somewhere else, even with the settlement we still wouldn't be able to afford it!"

"I don't wanna go anywhere! It's nobody else's business."

The words had barely left Sonic's mouth when Dr. Ericsson made his entrance, a clean shaven man of about half the age of Dr. Garrett who appeared to be of Asian descent. Following the exchange of greeting formalities, he took a seat at the desk, clasping his hands over his clipboard as he addressed the reason for their visit.

"So, I understand you've been trying to conceive," he tactfully began, "but thus far to no avail, is that correct?"

"Yes," Amy meekly confirmed, while Sonic eyed a Yoshi bobblehead on the desk.

"All right, what we're going to do is start off with a series of questions that will help us get an idea of where you both stand medically and emotionally. Some of the questions will be sensitive in nature, but it's important that we receive your honest answers in order to accurately rule out or pinpoint potential contributors to your situation. All of the information you provide here will be held in complete confidence." After reviewing details already on file, such as age, existing health conditions, allergies, and the first baby's birth, he made true on his advisory. "For approximately how many months have you been actively trying to conceive?"

"Umm," Amy reflected, "about…five months now…." It'd begun with their wedding night. Having opted against a honeymoon for the time being, she and Sonic had returned to her apartment following the reception, greatly relieved to be away from the crowds. He carried her over the threshold in the traditional newlywed fashion and set her down on the living room sofa, then sneezed as he took in a whiff of the dust that plumed up. The place hadn't been occupied since his injury almost a year back. Fanning the cloud away, she lay deep in thought as he eagerly peeled off his tuxedo and the straps securing his quills under it.

"Man, so glad to get these stupid things off!!" he exclaimed, vigorously scratching his back.

During that moment, it suddenly dawned on her that she'd embraced both Mercury and Shadow in that powder room, yet Sonic hadn't smelled them on her. Apparently she'd come into contact with so many different people over the last few hours that he couldn't discern their scents from the medley. She considered bringing it up now, but fear of his reaction held her tongue. He'd never been too thrilled with the fact that Mercury wasn't his, but chances were he wouldn't be too happy about her allowing Shadow to keep him, either. She really didn't want to risk spoiling their wedding night. The train of thought soon channeled into a concept that she _was_ inclined to voice, however.

"…I want another baby."

"Huh?" Sonic stopped rubbing his back against the corner of the kitchen counter so he could hear. She locked her eyes with his.

"I want to have another baby."

His expression twisted into an uncertain edge. The last time he thought she was ready for that degree of affection, a mere few weeks earlier, he painfully discovered that he'd misinterpreted her signals and that she had a surprisingly hard fist.

"……Are…you sure?" He approached slowly as she nodded.

"Don't you?"

"Oh, well yeah, of course, but, I mean, are you saying you wanna…try for one…now?" His head quickly shook off the last word. "I mean, not necessarily _right_ now, but…you know…." She reached her hand out to his face as he crouched beside the sofa, causing him to flinch away, but as it made contact he was soothed with an endearing touch.

"Right now," she assured him through a growing smile. He blinked, returning a feeble one of his own, then leaned in for a kiss. It was mild at first, but the gesture quickly grew passionate. He'd slipped his hand behind her back when he suddenly broke out laughing.

"Now that you have ten layers of clothes!!"

That evening had been the first of several attempts between them to conceive—not just a baby, but a fresh start, a means by which to fill the void in their hearts and move on as best they could. As the weeks continued to wear on with no success, however, they began to feel a backfire in their efforts as a new worry wormed its way in. It just didn't seem right that she'd conceive from a single night with Shadow and yet go almost half a year with Sonic and have nothing to show for it. It'd taken a lion's share of nagging, threats, and guilt trips, but she'd finally gotten him to where they sat now.

"All right," Dr. Ericsson paused to record her answer in his paperwork, then proceeded, "and over these five months, about how many times per week have you engaged in sexual intercourse?"

Amy pressed her fist against her mouth for a few moments before turning to Sonic. He met her gaze with a raised eyebrow, finding an amusing measure of gratification in the crimson hue flushing her cheeks. Misery loved company.

"Ummm…" she mused, pausing to gnaw her knuckle, "……probably about………" then inhale an extra deep breath, "…………I'd say………" then exhale most of it, "……about………" then count her fingers, "…………forty?" She peered at Sonic again, but he was now facing the wall on his right, trying to hide his fast expanding simper under the hand on which he'd propped his chin.

"A week?" Dr. Ericsson sought to verify. Amy bit her lip and started to nod until Sonic actually spoke up.

"…Closer to fifty…." His face was totally buried in his hand.

"Fifty…." the human casually echoed. The amount, which research had shown was not at all unusual among healthy Mobian rodents, was jotted in the file. "……And in what locations or environments has intercourse typically taken place?"

Amy answered promptly. "At home."

"Could you be more specific?"

A certain set of blue quills now facing the desk bobbed with the stifled chuckles that met the question. Amy took a sudden interest in Yoshi as she squirmed in her seat.

"…Uhhh…." her already wiry voice cracked. Sonic shifted back about, grinning and crossing his feet over the left armrest as he leaned back against the other. He knew exactly what she was thinking as her eyes fixed pleadingly on him.

"Don't look at me! You made your bed!" he quipped, folding his arms behind his head. His attention then switched to Dr. Ericsson as the man began to make a new entry in his notes. "Hey, what're you writin'?" He sat up to see.

"Leave him alone!" Amy snapped. "He's probably writing down what an unsupportive jerk you are!" His head whipped back to her.

"_Hey!!_"

Dr. Ericsson smiled disarmingly. "I was just marking this question as deferred so that we could perhaps move on to something you're more comfortable discussing."

Sonic thrust back into his chair, ears bent and arms crossed. "Well hold up, I don't wanna be an unsupportive jerk and leave all that out!" he countered with sarcastic inflection. "We used the bed, the couch, the floor, the kitchen counter, the kitchen table, the bathtub, uh, the wall…and then there was that time in the bathroom of that store…." He rubbed his chin and cracked up. "We were just lookin' at some office supplies, and the next thing you know she couldn't keep her hands off me!" Amy sat staring, motionless, though her mind was actively mulling over whether to strangle him right there. Dr. Ericsson was making his best effort to keep from laughing.

"All right," the man responded as he quickly stabilized his composure, "I think I'm starting to see some emotional factors that could be having a heavy influence on your situation, so I'd like to delve into some questions on that side at this time." The observation was just enough to divert the couple's attention from its imminent collision. Over the next few hours, he carefully explored the hedgehogs' emotional well being before returning full circle to the physical details. By the time it was over they'd managed to chart just about every passageway of their tunnel of love and had discovered some areas of which even they were not aware. The interview had proved an important learning experience for them all.

Nearing the session's end, Amy blinked as she absorbed Dr. Ericsson's concluding analysis, then summarized, "So basically what you're saying is that the problem is mainly being caused by stress, right?"

"Considering your recent circumstances, I'd say stress is a primary contributing factor, yes," he confirmed, "but another possibility that shouldn't be overlooked is a natural drop in ovulation. We don't have enough data on your species yet to positively affirm this as a factor, but trends observed in Mobians of similar species suggest that your fertility probably saw a sharp decrease following the birth of your son."

"Hm." Sonic, who'd been gradually opening up to the discussion, no longer hesitated to voice his own thoughts. "Is this decrease permanent?"

"Our data at this time consists of only short-term results, unfortunately, so we're unable to provide anything beyond speculation as to whether it will change," Ericsson informed them. "From what we've observed thus far, though, I can tell you that in none of the cases has the subject's fertility returned to its original level following childbirth. In fact, there have been only additional and sharper decreases in fertility, especially among subjects who gave birth to a second or third child, with some nearly reaching the point of sterility." The hedgehogs both gawked at his words. "But again, this is purely based on our findings with other rodent-based species, as we have no actual fertility data on hedgehogs outside of your own. That being said, we hope you will assist us in our research with your participation in some specialized tests."

A groan immediately escaped Sonic, but he looked to Amy for her response. She was already eyeing him and raised her brow at receiving the reigns.

"What kind of tests exactly?" she asked the doctor.

"Just some simple procedures to measure your follicle stimulating hormone level, nothing invasive, but it will require an overnight stay."

"What about Sonic? Does he have to be here too?"

Dr. Ericsson glanced to him and then the file. "I believe we already have everything we need from him towards this end, but if he would like to stay for moral support he's certainly welcome to do so."

"So in other words, yes," Sonic chuckled.

Finally, the closing extensions of gratitude were made from each side for the other's time and help, and the couple was escorted from the office into the testing clinic. The procedures were painless, as promised, but the hours dragged the weight of the world behind them. When they'd at last finished for the night, they were shown from the labs to a special suite that offered all the comforts of home, including carpeted floors, a corduroy loveseat, an HDTV, a fireplace, sleek shelves and stands adorned with old world-themed décor, watercolor paintings on every wall, a kitchenette with a built-in mini-bar, a candle-topped dining table for two, a private bathroom, and a lavishly furnished bedroom.

"Wow...! This is nicer than our apartment!" Amy marveled to Sonic as they took the scene in. He laughed as he strode into the kitchenette.

"Whoa, check out the fridge!!" he called over his shoulder. "It's like being back at the mansion!" He rummaged through for several seconds and suddenly emerged with a pack of hot dogs in hand. "Hebrew National! Heck yeah!!" While he checked the pantries for buns, Amy wandered throughout the suite, admiring the attention to detail in every room. Gazing upon the teak posts spiraling up from the corners of the bed to its swagging canopy left her hanging on a mesmerized breath. She barely registered Sonic's voice carrying from the kitchen. "Oh wow, canned chili!! They read my mind!!" She blinked out of her trance amidst the spotty clanging of cookware and utensils, running her eyes along the scene a few moments longer before leaving the room. Sonic grinned at her from the stove as she made her way back to the kitchenette. "See, it's a good thing I talked you into coming here!" he joked, provoking a playful slap on the back.

After supper and a warm shower, Amy slipped under the overstuffed patchwork comforter of the dreamy bed while Sonic watched TV in the main room. Everything was so soft and warm, and it'd been a very long day. Within minutes her body eased into blissful slumber, and her subconscious dabbled in the palette of dreams.

On a sunny day in a casual dining establishment, she was seated on a tall stool, her feet dangling several inches from the floor. Shadow was sitting beside her, his arms leaning across the bar before them. It was as though they did this all the time.

"Where's Mercury?" she inquired, mere curiosity in her tone.

"He's sick in bed with a spider bite," came his reply, frivolously sympathetic.

"Did you squeeze it out?"

"Squeeze what out?"

"The, you know, poison?"

He shook his head. "You can't squeeze it out."

Amy suddenly jolted awake, as if someone or something had disturbed her. She turned over, Shadow's likeness still fresh in her mind. What a weird dream. Funny how she dreamed of Mercury being sick with a spider bite when Mobians were immune to spider venom. At least she didn't have to worry about it actually being true. However, it had still left her with a strange, somewhat unsettled feeling.

The light in the main room went out, and Sonic soon entered the bedroom. Amy rolled onto her back and scooted herself over to give him some room. He glanced about as he climbed in.

"Nice bed," he remarked, his voice slightly hushed.

"Yeah, I love it," she agreed, yawning.

"I like how you can get in without a stepstool. The one you've got at home is, like, five feet off the floor."

"It is not that bad!" she disputed near laughter. As he settled in under the covers, she ran her hand along the puffy patches. "Thanks for coming here with me."

"Heh…it was……it was interesting," he commented. "And," he shrugged, "we got a pretty nice deal out of it at the end." She agreed with a mild giggle. After lying there staring straight at the canopy for a minute, he spoke again. "…Does it really bother you when I sleep in other places?" he asked of a comment she'd made during the interview.

"Well, it's just that sometimes I wish you were beside me so I could talk to you and hold you and kiss you good night—you know, besides during sex. I don't really mind if you wanna sleep somewhere else once in a while, but it'd be nice to have you here more often."

He blinked with a hint of a frown. "…Guess I never really thought about it…." She nestled beside him in the silence and nuzzled her face into his chest a bit until he started laughing. "You're tickling me with your eyelashes!" He shifted to his side and cradled her head with his hand, guiding it to his shoulder. She closed her eyes and lay smiling serenely until his tongue ran suggestively over one of her ears.

"_Sonic!_" she squeaked, nudging him sharply. "Not here!"

"Psch! Excuse me!" He backed off and lay flat on his stomach, face turned away. In a nearby surveillance room, several MRT staff members voiced their collective disappointment. After a short while, Amy cracked a smile and leaned over, planting a warm kiss behind one of his own ears.

"Good night," she whispered as he lifted his head and peered at her. He returned an endearing nod.

"Good night…Rose." It was his way of telling her he loved her.

Morning came fast, but it was nonetheless welcomed. Amy finished up her tests and received a bottle of specially formulated fertility pills, along with Dr. Ericsson's orders to reduce stress between herself and Sonic. It was decided under these circumstances that now would be a good time to go on the honeymoon they'd been putting off, which left only one question.

"Where to?" Sonic asked for the third time since they'd gotten home. He sauntered to the back of her chair, where she sat using her PC, and drummed his fingers over it.

"Still looking," she answered blankly, her eyes remaining fixed on the screen. "I definitely wanna keep it simple, somewhere in the States."

He watched her navigate a few web pages. "…What are you on, dial-up?"

"No," she shot back as if offended, "it's cable, but this stupid site's taking forever. Lemme try this other one." A few clicks returned a promising list of potential destinations. She skimmed through the highlights. "Hm! It says that the Smoky Mountains are the most visited national park in the country! Wanna go there?"

"Smoky Mountains, huh? What state's that in?"

"Uhh…Tennessee…and North Carolina. Must be pretty big!"

His brow furrowed. "…Where are those?" She pulled up a map and pointed them out. "Oh, wow…the other side of the country." He shrugged. "Works for me!"

"Or there's Yellowstone National Park, which is much closer," she mentioned.

"Nah, I think I'd rather see smoky mountains than yellow stones."

And so it was decided. They departed the very next week, covering most of the distance by air and traveling the rest of the way on foot, at Sonic's insistence. Though noticeably cooler than Station Square, they found it surprisingly mild in the area at nearly 50 degrees.

As they stood overlooking endless ranks of evergreens through the wispy mist, Amy nudged herself against Sonic upon noting his somber expression. What's wrong?"

"Ehh," he sighed, cocking his head, "I'm a little disappointed with this place. I thought the mountains were really gonna be smoking, like volcanoes!"

"Ohh." She paused for another glance at the fast drifting clouds. "But it still looks kinda neat, don't ya think?" He nodded.

"Yeah, but it'd be a lot cooler to see the real thing!"

They stepped back in abrupt silence as a little boy suddenly toddled between them, his mother sharply calling him as she hurried over.

"Aaron!!" She took hold of his arm and addressed the hedgehogs, "I'm sorry." Amy frowned as she watched the woman lead the child away.

Turning back to the misty view, Sonic scratched his head and chuckled. "What was I talking about?" Amy shifted her eyes down, ignoring his question.

"…Mercury will be a year old in a few days…." she murmured. Though she at least had an idea of her son's situation, she still missed him immensely and worried for his well being, and she wondered as she had many times over the past five months whether she'd truly done the right thing. Lifting her eyes to Sonic, she saw him looking past her in several pointed glances, as if searching for something. "Are you listening?"

His eyes met hers and he shook his head. "Let's not go there. We're here to de-stress, right?"

"Yeah…."

"I don't mean to sound cold, but he's the last thing we should be bringing up on this trip." He peered back over her shoulder. "…Ready to move on?"

She hesitated at the words' impact. Obviously he was referring to the mountain trail, but at the same time…he wasn't. She remained silent as she resumed walking with him up the incline.

In the hotel that night, Amy lay next to Sonic in bed, reviewing some papers she'd received from the MRT staff. She scanned a list of suggested relaxation tactics. "Let's see…what haven't we tried yet? We've done the candles, the warm milk, the stretches, the massages…."

"I liked the massages," he interjected, though more absorbed in channel surfing than the conversation.

She kept reading. "How about…origami?

He snorted. "That's not on there!"

"Yes it is!" she laughed, handing the papers to him. He scanned the list for himself, then cackled loudly. "Gimme a break!! This crap ain't gonna work!"

It worked.

Amy beamed the brightest she had in over a year as she and Sonic sat in the company of Chris and his new girlfriend Candi, as well as Francis and her date Ty, at a Cenzetti's Italian buffet. Upon hearing the news that she had again conceived, Chris had insisted on treating them out, and the event then morphed into a triple date of sorts.

"I'd like to make a toast to Sonic and Amy and their new little bundle of joy to be," Chris announced, raising his glass. Everyone smiled brightly as the glasses tapped together.

"At least now you definitely know who the father is," Francis blurted out, receiving a wide-eyed glare from Chris across the table. She grimaced, suddenly realizing what she'd just said. Amy agreed politely, flushing a bit, but Sonic didn't seem bothered at all. He chuckled casually as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head.

"Guess we'll see!"

He closed his eyes, taking no notice of Amy's offended gape, but it was soon followed by her dumping her drink over his head. He bolted up, frozen for an instant in his shocked pose by the icy beverage, then turned and snapped at her. "_What the hell, Amy_?!" The other two couples could only watch as she stormed off with him close behind, their angry mutterings now barely audible over the background noise. Francis groaned regretfully.

"I forgot it was such a sensitive subject for them!" she whispered across the table.

"They go at it like this from time to time, so I wouldn't really worry about it," Chris consoled her, blotting the puddles on the table with his napkin. "She was really moody the last time she was pregnant too. I think once the new baby comes things will be a lot better for them. I'm hoping it'll help...make up for the last one."

"They never found the baby that was stolen?" Candi asked.

Chris shook his head. "No……I feel so bad for them. For a while there, after it first happened, I seriously thought Amy was going to lose it. I couldn't imagine how they were ever gonna get through it, and yet here they are, pretty much back to their old selves. I'm really glad to see how well they've held together." He glanced to where the hedgehogs stood, still bickering, and in the lull of the conversation at the table the four could clearly make out Sonic's voice.

"_It was a friggin' joke!!_"

Chris nodded slowly, cracking a sheepish smile. "…For the most part."

Meanwhile, a world away, life was faring quite well for another young family. Gliding full speed along freshly plowed rows of the garden, Shadow kept a secure grip on Mercury, who rode perched on his shoulder. The little hedgehog held on tight, closing his eyes and flattening his chin on his father's head as he picked up speed. Just a few months back this activity had been frightening for him, but he was gradually learning to love it. He laughed every time they came to a stop and eagerly awaited more. Shadow, too, was growing to enjoy these otherwise ridiculous games a great deal, and he found himself smiling and laughing more often than he ever had in his life. At last, in the midst of a garden, the void was filled. He had finally come to feel at home…and at peace.

A few yards from the boys, Maple worked hard at raking up the remnants of picked over spinach. There was a significant bulge at her belly, but only because her pouch was stuffed with turnips. Nothing had changed between her and Shadow. She paused from her work and glanced up at him just in time to witness his shredding a few heads of lettuce on a particularly wide u-turn.

"HEY!!" she bellowed. "Watch where you're going!!!" She dropped the rake and trotted over to the damaged crops to see what she could salvage. After picking through the mess a bit, she lifted her head to yell at him again, discovering in that instant that he was only a few feet away, heading right for her and closing way too fast. She fell back with a blood-curdling scream just as he leaped safely over. Upon landing, he ground his skates to a quick but graceful stop nearby, turning to find her lying with corpse-like rigidity on the ground. Mercury bounced and pointed with excitement.

"Mama's dead again!" he exclaimed, at which Shadow managed a good laugh between breaths.

The passing months found laughter trickling back into Sonic's and Amy's lives as well, its heartwarming sound filling their home on the day she gave birth to her second child. In the absence of the Mobian Research Team this time, friends and family were free to gather around the pleased parents and adore their new baby girl. Her satiny hue, close to lavender but slightly darker, covered her entire body except for her bare arms and belly, and her eyes were pink tourmaline.

"So whatcha gonna name her?" Tails implored, his hopeful fists pushed together.

"Lavender would be so lovely," Cream's voice was dreamy as she pulled on her own ears.

Even Sam joined in. "You should name her something to do with speed, like…Zoomella..." The whole apartment filled with groans and laughter. "Seriously, though, a speedy name might be nice, encourage her to take after her father, maybe," he added with a wink.

"Hah!" Sonic sounded off, grinning. He hadn't stopped grinning all day.

"I think it'd be better to go with something girly," Chris expressed.

Knuckles leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "I'm not sayin' nothin'!" he chuckled, shaking his head.

Overcoming her giggles, Amy spoke up. "Actually, I think I already know what I want to call her." The room went silent with anticipation. "Her name will be…Iris. Misty Iris." Plenty of oohs and ahhs followed, and if there were any objections, none were voiced, and so the name was thus bestowed. Shortly thereafter, Chris stood in the doorway and yelled to be heard over the numerous conversations.

"All right, who wants cake??" The torrent of guests flooded out, giving the hedgehogs a minute alone. Sonic took the opportunity to plant a gentle kiss on Amy's forehead before everyone began to return with their pieces on paper plates.

As she watched everyone cheerfully carry on around her, Amy breathed a peaceful sigh. She'd traveled through a long, dark tunnel, but at last, she'd reached the other side. Everything was…almost perfect; she wished she could somehow freeze time and remain suspended in this bliss forever.

Too bad that never happens.


	7. The Rescue

Chapter 7 – The Rescue

"Apple cake!!!"

Mercury's elated voice roused Shadow from slumber at the crack of dawn. Though still rather tired, he stretched and forced himself out of bed to join his son in the kitchen, who beamed up at him. "My favorite!!"

"Ready for a piece?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah!!!"

Maple leaned back from the stove where she was preparing breakfast. "Not too much, I'm makin' cheddar tots!"

Mercury lit up again. "My favorite!!"

Shadow made an amused snort as he rummaged through the contents of a nearby cabinet. He returned to the table with three small candles and a long nozzle lighter in hand.

"On Earth they have a tradition," he explained, "where you make a wish, in your head, and if you can blow all the candles out on the first try, the wish comes true." He plunged each into the top of the cake, forming a triangle, then lit them. Mercury eagerly climbed into the nearest chair. "All right, now make a wish."

The child closed his eyes and thought for a few seconds, then opened them with a smile. "Okay! Blow now?" With Shadow's nod, he took a deep breath and, with his own brand of gale force, reduced each flame to a thin stream of smoke. "I did it!!"

"Good job, Spider," his father lauded, rustling his top quill with one hand. "Happy birthday."

Maple set a platter of cheese-filled tater tots on the table as Mercury was served a thin slice of cake. "Here ya go, sweetie! Happy birthday!" She paused reflectively as he cheered. "Hey, isn't there a birthday song they sing too?"

Shadow answered quickly. "Go get the present."

Maple smirked and headed to her bedroom while the boys started on their breakfast. After a couple of minutes, movement caught Shadow's eye from the living room, and he glanced up to see Maple waving him over with decided urgency. She led him out the front door as he approached.

Her voice was tense and sheepish. "We've got a problem…."

"What's wrong with them?" Shadow demanded, his eyes narrowed on her.

"Nothin', they're fine," she assured him, "but…I must have…left them out at the farmer's market..." Shadow's face turned aside in clear annoyance as she stammered on, "I put 'em in my bag, and I thought I put the bag in the box with the cucumbers, but I must've left it hangin' on the tree!"

"You picked a hell of a time to space out," he growled. "You can't have a kid wake up on his birthday to no presents!"

She pressed her eyes shut and ran a hand over her ears. "I'll go get it now!"

"_I'll_ go," he contended. "You stall him 'til I get back. Take him out for a walk or something…and try not to lose him on the way home." She scowled as he headed out on the dirt trail, then opened the door to head back inside, finding Mercury standing there with cake crumbs all around his mouth, happily smacking on cheddar tots.

"…You finish your breakfast? Let's get you all cleaned up, and then we're gonna go out and play for a while, okay? Daddy's goin' to have a surprise for you when we get back!"

"YEA!!!" The boy scampered back to the kitchen, and within minutes, they were heading out themselves. They traveled a few miles to Firefly Forest, which hosted a large community park. Mercury took to the wooden fort while Maple seated herself with a book on the nearest bench. She took careful note of the time; at a decent pace, it'd probably take Shadow at least an hour and a half each way, so she figured spending a few hours here would ensure he got back before they did.

Less than a mile away, a certain two-tailed adolescent fox walked dragging the remains of his latest invention behind him, a flameless strap-on personal hot air balloon. The device had encountered some technical difficulties amidst testing and left him far from home, so he was making the return trip via the only remaining means. As he passed the play fort, his mind engrossed in pinpointing his miscalculation, the little black and red hedgehog was barely given a fleeting glance.

And then Tails stopped.

He blinked several times, furrowing his brow, and turned around.

"……_It can't be_…!"

He shed the balloon and clambered closer. The colors and patterns were an exact match to his recollection...and he was about the right age. What were the chances? He edged closer, then suddenly went on full alert, scanning the vicinity for Shadow, but he was nowhere in sight. Tails swallowed. There was only one way he could think of to make sure he'd found who he thought he'd found.

"Mercury?"

The child immediately turned, and their eyes met. It was_ definitely _him! With one last darting look around, Tails gritted his teeth—and snatched the boy into his arms. Maple lifted her head at Mercury's startled cry, letting out a shriek of her own when she all at once realized a stranger was making off with her son. She flung the book aside and scrambled after them, screaming hysterically.

"_**STOP!!!**_"

The fleeing fox glanced back in surprise at his pursuer, then thrust his tails into their rotor spin as he tightened his grip on Mercury. Within moments he was airborne, lifting just out of Maple's reach as she caught up to them. He winced as her cries mingled with Mercury's into an ear-piercing accord. Hastening over trees and steep ledges, he made sure to go where she couldn't follow. The flight terrified his passenger all the more, however, and in their struggle he nearly lost his grip on the child.

"Hold still before I drop you!!" he barked, squeezing him tightly in his arms. The toddler's thorn-like quills were digging into his chest, but a few marks on his body were better than letting him fall to his death. A fair distance from the park, he landed to rest his fatigued tails while continuing on foot. "Mercury, calm down, _please_…." he attempted to comfort the child, "I'm not going to hurt you!" The hedgehog grew quiet for a few seconds, sniffling, then bawled louder as he writhed aggressively.

"Noooo!!! No!! No!!" It was all he would say. His quills hooked Tails' arm and torso, plowing bloody scrapes. This called for desperate measures. Keeping one arm around Mercury, Tails pecked some commands into his wristwatch before continuing on his way. He watched the skies as he went, and finally, he spotted sweet relief. Having piloted itself to his coordinates, the X-Tornado hovered several feet overhead. Tails ascended with Mercury to its cockpit and strapped the boy in the back seat, then hopped in front and secured himself. With the push of a button, the canopy lowered itself in place and the jet rocketed forth past the morning sun. He gladly fitted a pair of noise cancelling headphones over his ears as he dialed Sonic. Last Christmas he'd given Sonic a watch somewhat similar to his own, which primarily doubled as a cel phone, but he rarely answered calls, and this time was no exception. Tails groaned as he was sent to voice mail.

"Hey, Sonic, when you get this message, meet me at your apartment _NOW_," he shouted, the last word sounding more like an alligator's mating call. "It's very important! 'Kay-thanks-bye!" Ten minutes later, the Mobius Monorail Station came into view. He flew straight over it through the world portal, then continued on a short distance farther until arriving at the apartment complex. The plane lowered smoothly onto the parking lot just outside, quadruple parked, but he was pretty sure no one would mind. He retrieved Mercury and raced to apartment 702. As he pounded on its door, the child stood mostly quiet, having worn himself out. Several breaths later, he was still waiting, muttering anxiously. "Come on, Sonic, check your voice mail!" He dialed out from his watch again, this time to Amy's phone. Suddenly, he could faintly hear a familiar song playing from somewhere nearby.

_If I could escape_

_And recreate a place as my own world_

_Then I could be your favorite girl_

_Forever_

_Perfectly togeth-_

"Hello?" Amy answered.

"Amy, where are you?" Tails leaned aside and peered around the corner of the building.

"I'm at home. Why?" her voice carried to him from the nearest concave patio. He jogged over, pulling Mercury whining behind him, and found her standing there by a plastisol-coated table on which Misty was seated.

"You'll _never_ guess who I ran into!!" he replied from right behind her. Amy turned in surprise, then dropped her phone as her eyes fell on Mercury. Tails chuckled excitedly. "I was just walkin' through the park, minding my own business, and there he was, and I was like, surely that can't be him! But I got up closer, and I called out his name, and it really was! So I grabbed him as fast as I could and took off, and I was expecting Shadow to come after me at any moment, but some lady started chasing after me instead, and I just barely got away! His quills were pokin' and scratchin' me the whole time…." he trailed off. Amy's trembling hands were cupped over her mortified face, and as he'd detailed the incident her head had begun to shake wildly from side to side.

"No…no!!" she finally gasped, her hands now flailing fists. "You shouldn't have done that! You have to take him back!!" Tails flinched away, eyes wide.

"Wha...?! W-why??"

"I told Shadow he could keep him!!"

Tails gaped at her for a moment, then abruptly looked to his right. Amy leaned to peer around the corner.

Sonic had arrived…and from the look on his face, he'd heard every word.

The three stood in heart-pounding silence until Sonic's eyes shifted to Tails and he very slowly, calmly spoke.

"Tails…could you…watch these kids out here for a minute? I need to have a word with my wife…." The fox nodded, still wearing utter shock. Sonic stepped onto the patio and opened the door, holding it as his eyes darted to Amy. She fidgeted with her hands for a couple of seconds before quietly heading in. He then made a final glance at Mercury before following her, pulling the door shut behind him. Tails leaked an exasperated sigh as he was left between the two little hedgehogs. Mercury rubbed his eyes, choking on tears, while Misty lifted the plastic wand from her bottle of sudsy solution and blew a string of bubbles his way.

Inside, Sonic paced in front of the sofa where Amy sat; both were at an initial loss for words. He pinched the bridge between his eyes, snorting into a grin.

"Lemme see if I got this straight…." dragged from him as if the moment were playing out at half speed, "You told Shadow," the hand came away, "without any knowledge or consent on my part," and all traces of humor faded, "that he could keep Mercury?"

She stared at the floor, avoiding his searing eyes. Her silence had answered the question, but her mind desperately mulled for an angle at which he might accept the reason.

He went on. "How long ago was this? Were you ever gonna even bother telling me?!"

"Of course I was gonna tell you!" she asserted. "It's just--I knew you'd be mad, but he'd already had him so long…it was the best thing for both of them!"

He balked, not believing his ears. "Both?! Why is _Shadow_ being considered while _I'm_ completely left out?! _Who the hell are you married to, Amy_?!?" He jerked about, too furious to look at her. "Did I not come to treat that kid as my own?! I held him and washed him and fed him and changed him, the whole time he was sick! Did you think I didn't care??" The fury in his eyes had given way to hurt and confusion as he turned back to her. "Or did it not even matter?"

"I…" Amy strained against tears to explain, "I didn't mean to leave you out…I'm sorry…."

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry too…I'm sorry that you think that Mercury's better off with someone who dangled him off a bridge than with me…and that I spent all this time worrying about you, wondering if you were gonna be all right, makin' a fool out of myself while you knew about this all along! I'm sorry I passed up a kingdom and a life with someone who actually gives a damn what I think, only to saddle myself with a stupid slut!"

Amy's mouth hung open as he pushed open the patio door and stepped out. He returned seconds later with Misty in his arm. Tails followed him in, holding onto Mercury.

"So, uh……what now?" the fox inquired carefully.

"Don't ask me," Sonic snapped from the kitchen. "No one else does." Tails cringed in the tension as he turned to Amy, whose dismal eyes were on her weeping son. She reached to touch his face.

"Mercury…."

The child backed away with a timid whine. She withdrew her hand, distraught at his rejection, but spoke again. "Mercury…are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?" He shook his head as tears streamed down his face. "What do you want to do?"

He choked back a couple of breaths before finally mustering the courage to speak. "…I wanna go home!!" The shaky words deteriorated into miserable wails. Amy pushed slowly to her feet.

"Sonic……he needs to go back…."

"So take him back!" Sonic replied. "I'm not tryin' to stop you!" He finished rinsing the soap from Misty's hands and set her down. Still dripping, she promptly toddled into the living room, stopping just past the dining table for a curious stare at her bawling half-brother.

Amy sighed and turned to Tails. "I'll go with you."

"Okay…." Tails' eyes trailed over to Sonic, who stood at the counter with his back to them. "See you later, Sonic…."

He waved an arm dismissively. "Bye."

Just outside the apartment, Tails stopped and hung his head. "Amy, I'm sorry…I didn't know…."

"It's not your fault, Tails," she assured him. "It's mine. He has every reason to be mad at me…." She crouched beside Mercury, trying for his sake to look pleasant. "We're gonna take you home now, okay, darling?" The sobs quickly reduced to soft sniffles as he blinked at her. "It's your birthday today, isn't it?" His eyes widened in surprise, and he nodded. "Would you like to stop for ice cream on the way?" After a few seconds, he nodded again. A genuine grin crossed her face. "All right, you can pick any flavor you want!" He smiled a bit as her hand stroked his cheek. "Okay, let's go," she urged Tails, pulling herself up with his arm.

They boarded the X-Tornado, Amy in the back with Mercury on her lap, and within seconds were blasting off. As promised, a brief stop was made at a local Baskin Robbins, and after emerging with a scoop of Pistachio Almond, they were back on their way.

In the midst of Firefly Park, Maple wandered about, weeping. The abductor had vanished without a trace, leaving her at a total loss as to what she should do. With Shadow wanted on both sides of the portal, she couldn't even call the police…but far more distressing was the thought of trying to explain to him the fact that she really _had_ lost his son while they were out. It was no wonder he refused her as a mate; as unworthy as she was, it was amazing he had anything to do with her at all.

She lifted her teary eyes at the next clearing, gasping loudly as she spotted the fox just ahead, along with a pink hedgehog who had Mercury by the hand. Raising a sizable tree limb she'd found over her head, she dashed after them full force, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"It was right around here…." Tails had begun to mention when Maple's demented war cry caused him to jump and spin around. He extended his hands in front of him, waving them frantically. "Wait! Stop!!" Maple continued to charge, leaving him with only one recourse. He pivoted just before she reached him, smacking her with one tail, and then the other, in quick succession. The first knocked her sideways, and the other sent her to the ground facefirst. "Chill, lady!" he shouted. "We came to return him!"

"Mama!!" Mercury pulled from Amy's hand and ran over to her. Thoroughly dazed, she pushed herself upright and wrapped an arm around him as she breathlessly struggled in vain to get to her feet.

After a moment's pause at the scene, Amy addressed the opossum. "We're terribly sorry about this…it was a big misunderstanding. My friend here thought that, uh, he was supposed to be with me…."

"Yeah..." Tails added, "sorry for taking off with him like that."

Maple's eyes jumped between them wildly, then halted on Amy and widened with recognition. Since the day she saw it in the newspaper, she'd never forgotten the face.

"You're..._his mother_…!" she stammered. "Amy Rose…!!"

Amy blinked in surprise. Though pretty well known on Earth, she wasn't recognized by most Mobians.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Um, nice to meet you; sorry it wasn't under better circumstances," she appended the sheepish formality.

A complete change of aura overtook Maple as she finally found her balance. "Ohhh my," she breathed with extra drawl, "I'm so sorry! How rude of me to come runnin' at you like that! Please accept my very deep apologies. My name's Maple!" She gripped Mercury with one hand while extending the other to shake. Amy took it in relief, glad the matter had reached an amiable conclusion. "I can't tell you how happy I am to finally meet you! Won't y'all please join me on the way back to the house? I have so many things I wanna tell you!"

Amy and Tails accepted the invite, chatting with their new friend as they made their way to her home. "Shadow told me that you let him keep lil' Mercury," she mentioned. "That sure was sweet…."

Amy smiled feebly. "…It seemed like the best thing for them both…."

"Oh, it was! You should see him; he's so much happier, and Spider just loves to play with him! Eh-hee, we call 'im Spider," she explained. "Always climbin' on everything!"

"…Um," Amy hesitantly began, "so, you and Shadow have been…together for a while?"

"Ohh, we live together, but we're just good friends," Maple laughed, her voice using suggestive emphasis.

"…Is he home right now?" Tails asked after a brief silence.

"Nah, he's gone out of town, so it'll be a few hours before he gets back."

At the same moment, Shadow stood scanning the farmer's market grounds for the bag of which Maple had spoken. Its shiny buckles caught his eye from where it hung on the sawed-off branch of a large pecan tree. At least it hadn't been stolen. He strode up and retrieved it, a messenger-style satchel, and peered inside. The package containing Mercury's gift was undisturbed.

"Hey!"

Shadow's head snapped up at the female voice. He hadn't realized he wasn't alone. A jade-toned squirrel emerged from between the stands and tartly approached. "It's not nice to mess with other people's stuff!" Not far behind her was a dark grey rabbit, who simply looked on. Shadow's first impulse was to flee the scene, but he held his ground. He wasn't about to create a pursuit when he was doing nothing wrong.

"I'm here on Maple's behalf," he informed the squirrel as she neared.

"Oh, you are? …Wait a minute…!" Her amber eyes grew very wide. "Are you…the helper she hired…?" Apprehension struck Shadow's heart at that moment; if she recognized him as the outlaw he was, his entire living situation would be in jeopardy. His mind was already plotting a means of subduing them both long enough to make a clean escape when he answered.

"Yeah…."

"Oh my gosh…" she nearly whispered, then exclaimed, "…I'm so glad I ran into you! Chase, get over here!!" The rabbit trotted up as she continued. "Okay, um, first of all, I'm Lime, and this is Chase, and you're, uh, Joe, right?" Shadow cocked an eyebrow as he nodded. "Okay, ahh, sorry if I'm all buggin' out on ya here. Rumor had it that you were nothin' but a scarecrow, so I'm surprised to see a real person turn up! Anyways……you might think this is none of my business, but I—_we_ think that you should know…that…" she paused, her eyes darting aside, "…this Maple person you work for…she's not right in the head…."

"I'm aware of that," Shadow responded, blinking irritably.

"I'm sure you are, but…it's worse than it seems…." Lime pressed on. "I don't know if she ever mentioned this to you, but about five or six years ago, she was with a man who ended up cheatin' on her, and when she found out, she _really_ lost it…and then all of a sudden one day she told everybody that he 'left' her," she paused, forming quotation marks with her fingers, "but…well, he left, all right, but where he went you don't come back."

Shadow's brow sank. "You're saying she killed him?"

Chase joined in, "None of his friends ever saw or heard from him again after that, and a friend of mine who went to check on her the day after she claimed he left said there was a spot in the garden where the squash plants had dried blood all over 'em for a good ten feet. He asked her about it, and she acted like she didn't know where it came from. Then finally the police came, but by that time she'd already washed it all off, of course, so they didn't find nothin'." Lime nodded.

"It's one of those things where you _know_ she did it, but there's no way you can prove it, so there's nothin' anyone can do. We just thought that you should know, 'cause, if it were me, I'd wanna know," she explained. "I'd hate to find out that somethin' happened to you too, and then wish I woulda said somethin'…."

Shadow eyed the two in pensive silence. The only thing he could think of was the fact that Maple was alone with Mercury, which wasn't the first time, but it would certainly be the last. He slipped the strap of the bag over his head so that it came to rest on his opposite shoulder, then departed the market without another word.

Amy and Tails made themselves comfortable in Maple's home, sitting at the kitchen table while she brewed some iced tea and Mercury got a much-needed nap in the living room. As the tea was poured into three glasses, Maple added a pinch of the herb that had been used to drug Shadow to one of them. She had to be careful not to use too much, or it would become bitter. A little was all she needed this time anyway. She smiled sweetly as she set the tainted beverage before Amy, the other two going to herself and Tails.

"Would y'all like some apple cake as well? I made some for Spider's birthday, and there's plenty left!" They politely declined, so she went ahead and took her seat with them.

Amy could hardly help staring at Maple as they continued to converse. She was…gorgeous. Seeing her in this damp but happy home that she shared with Shadow began to spawn an unexpected but well known feeling within. Amy found herself tuning out Maple's words as she chided herself in her own mind.

_You've got Sonic. Sure, he thinks you're a stupid slut, but that's no reason to be jealous of Shadow as if he's got something better to offer_….

Maple cracked a smile as Amy's eyelids began to droop. Now all she had to do was lose the fox.

"Ahh, I hope you won't think me too nosy or anything, but there were some…personal questions I was wonderin' if I could ask you about Shadow…." she requested of Amy.

The pink hedgehog blinked out of her zone. "Oh, no, go ahead!"

"Well…" Maple giggled, taking on a shy demeanor, "it's kind of…girl talk…." she trailed off, her eyes darting briefly in Tails' direction. He was quick to take the hint.

"Oh," he voiced promptly, getting to his feet, "I'll go ahead and head out so you two can talk. I've got some stuff I've gotta take care of anyway."

"All right, Tails," Amy said after a yawn.

He nodded to Maple. "It was nice meeting you. Thanks again for the tea!"

"You're welcome, sweetie!" Maple returned.

"Bye, Amy! Just give me a call if you need a ride back, 'kay?" he offered. She nodded.

"Okay, thanks! Bye bye!"

Maple eyed Amy intently once Tails had left the house. "Now that we're alone…I was wonderin'…what was it that brought you and Shadow together?"

"Mmm…" Amy mused, propping her face on her hand, "well, for me, I liked how he would listen when I talked and find new ways of handling routine things and would jump right into something when you least expected him to…but, to be honest, things happened kinda fast, and I think it was probably…not the best decision…."

"How do you suppose he feels about you now?"

"Oh gosh, I don't know; I haven't seen him in years. I'm just hoping…there's no hard feelings…."

A smirk crept across Maple's face. "He sure knows how to hold a grudge, doesn't he?" Amy nodded, after which the two sat in silence for a few moments. "…I'll…be right back…." The opossum got up from the table and meandered across the house, into her bedroom. Her smirk morphed into a sinister grin as she lay casually on her bed, hissing under her breath. "He's not the only one, bitch."

At the table, Amy's chin lay upon her folded arms, her consciousness waning. The awful words that had spewed from her own husband mercilessly played back through her mind.

_Stupid slut_….

Sluggish tears crawled from her eyes as she closed them one more time.


	8. The Madness

Chapter 8 – The Madness

Amy squeezed her eyes tighter and turned aside from the sun's seething glare, her face burning like she'd been out in it forever. Cracking them open, all she could make out was a haze of yellow blotches and green streaks. She blinked a few times, straining to focus, and finally she realized she was staring at the flowering stalks of some kind of plant. They were all around her…and, her impaired awareness began to sense, she was lying on the ground. A distinctive sound from nearby drew her groggy gaze just past her feet, where she observed Maple in a hole so deep that only the opossum's beautifully disturbed face could be seen as she vigorously slung dirt from it with a large shovel.

"What are you doing…?" Amy mumbled as she sat up. Maple's startled eyes met hers, then narrowed on her as if bored.

"I thought Patrick might like a Rose," she remarked of her former mate. After hopping out, she passed the shovel into the grip of her tail and then peered back in. "Hm……not as deep as I wanted, but it'll have t'do!" She reached a hand out to Amy. "Lemme help ya up, darlin'…." Amy took it and stumbled clumsily to her feet, still trying to make sense of things. She brushed the dirt off her dress and began to ask another question when a shovel's sudden whack to her shins sent her screaming headfirst into the freshly dug hole. She rolled over and looked up just in time to see the mound of dirt being forced in after her. It rained in her mouth and choked her as she attempted to scream again, despite her flailing attempts to ward it off.

"…_St-op_!!!" she shrieked between coughs and gasps. Her head jerked aside as more earth poured in, its weight beginning to pin her down. With a desperate wrench, she whipped her arms free and began to claw at the walls of what was fast becoming her grave. Her arms trembled and teeth clenched as she pulled with all her strength, until at last she'd righted herself enough to give her legs vital leverage. She kicked and pushed furiously, working the dirt underneath her, and with a lunging reach her hand caught the hole's outer edge. Maple scowled and stomped it, but Amy refused to let go.

"Stay _down_!!!" the opossum screamed, lifting the shovel and taking aim at Amy's head. She had already begun to swing when a hand grasped the tool from behind, yanking it back and her along with it. Shadow twisted about and slung her from it with great force, her body tumbling over several times as she landed a few feet away. He stared at her out of breath for a few moments before turning his attention to the hole.

"Give me your hand," he panted, reaching to Amy. As he helped free her from her earthen plight, Maple lifted her bruised face and beheld them. Tears cut through the dust and her body heaved as the final cord of her sanity snapped in two. She clambered to her feet and madly sprinted forth. Shadow darted a wary eye to her as Amy was pulled up beside him, but she continued past them to the garden's edge, where she stooped to retrieve a pair of hedge trimmers lying on the ground, then proceeded toward the oak-adorned ledge. His anxious eyes quickly fell back on Amy as her exhausted body slumped in his arms. "Where's Mercury?!"

"Inside," she breathed, barely getting the word out before he dropped her and tore off in pursuit. He leaped from the ledge and bolted through the house's open door, grinding to a halt at the scene within. Maple stood facing his bed, where Mercury continued to nap, her hands firmly gripping the downward-angled trimmers inches before her. Their equally intense eyes locked as she pivoted about.

"Get away from him," he growled, his fists tight. She stared motionless for a heart stopping moment, then turned back to the child. Shadow instantly lunged into a homing attack, slamming the opossum's body several feet into the kitchen table, off which she bounced and landed facedown on the floor. The commotion startled Mercury awake, who pushed himself upright and peered at his father with puffy eyes.

"Daddy…!!"

Shadow crouched and checked him over carefully. "You okay?"

"I was with them, in the park," the toddler tried to explain, "and we was high up, and we went to the other place and then we went back here." His words left Shadow squinting.

"…We need to go," he replied as his mind refocused.

"Go where?"

"I don't know yet. …Here, take your Mushi." He grabbed and handed Mercury his raggedy parasect plush and was about to scoop him into his arms when Amy arrived on the scene, gasping in horror. After a quick glance at her, his attention returned to Maple, who remained where she'd landed…only now her blood was pooling beneath her. Eyes wide, Shadow hurried to her side and turned her over. The hedge trimmers were plunged deep in her chest, having pierced it when she hit the floor, and at the rate the blood was flowing, there was little doubt it'd gotten her heart. Her quivering hands curled around the handles and began to withdraw the blades.

"No! Don't!" Shadow pressed his hands over hers, knowing from his experience with the glass shard that removing the blades would only make things worse. Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes as she gazed at him, trying to speak but with only broken breaths coming out. He barked over his shoulder to Amy, "Get a towel or something!!" His hands maintained pressure around the wound as Amy ran into the kitchen, but the effort was to little effect. Maple's grip on the tool released, and her fingers gently squeezed his just before waning limp. He looked into her eyes as they closed for the final time, after which her breaths soon ceased.

The woman who had been his friend and companion for nearly three years was gone.

Amy returned with kitchen towels in hand but knew when she saw Maple's lifeless form that it was already too late. Their transfixed silence was shattered with a child's voice.

"Mama's dead again!"

Shadow was suddenly unable to breathe; terror clutched his heart as it never had in his life. He spun around to his son, who was standing behind him, and whisked him off his feet. Leaning the boy into his shoulder with one bloody hand, he grabbed the stunned pink hedgehog's arm with the other and fled from the home.

The three had traveled through miles of woods before coming to a stop, upon Amy's pleading. She leaned against a tree and caught her breath while Shadow sank to the ground, still clutching Mercury.

"Where are we?" the boy asked, to no answer. "Daddy, where are we?"

Shadow remained silent. He was unwilling to tell his son that they were at the beginning of a horrific ordeal.

----------------------------------------------------------

It was almost lunchtime when Tails showed up at Sonic and Amy's apartment. Sonic immediately cocked an eyebrow upon opening the door and cut straight to the question.

"Where's Amy?"

"Hey, Sonic," Tails went ahead and greeted anyway, "uh, she stayed behind to chat for a while." The blue hedgehog's eyes doubled in size.

"You left her alone with Shadow?!"

"No, no!" The fox quickly raised his hands in defense. "Shadow wasn't there! There was just some possum lady who's, like, Mercury's stepmom or something." He swallowed as Sonic frowned at him, unsatisfied with his answer. "She said she'd call if she needed a ride back."

"What, with this?" Sonic lifted up Amy's cel phone, causing Tails to grimace.

"She forgot it…?"

"Yeah, conveniently." Tails' ears bent a bit as Sonic turned and headed inside. "Can you take me there?" he asked over his shoulder.

"I can, but if you wanna fly I'm gonna need to go get the Tornado back out of the hangar."

"That's fine; I need to get a babysitter for Iris anyway," Sonic replied, dialing a number on his watch. After a few rings broadcasted from its speaker, Chris answered. "Hey, Chris," Sonic greeted, waving at Tails to head out, "Don't suppose you're available to watch my kid for a little bit while I go take care of something real quick, are ya?"

"Ohh, sorry, Sonic, I'm getting ready to go to a meeting here in a few minutes." It was the last Tails heard of the conversation before closing the door behind him. Kids were sure a lot of trouble, he thought to himself; it was no wonder Sonic was so grouchy these days.

An hour later, the two were soaring over Mobius, nearing Maple's home.

"We should be there soon," Tails announced as he began the plane's descent.

"All right, keep an eye out for her in case she…decided to walk," Sonic directed, leaning for a better view.

"Who'd you end up getting to babysit?"

"Ella."

"Oh. Did they ever get a new butler since Mr. Tanaka got married?"

"Uhh, I didn't think to ask."

Several rows of mustard greens were scorched as the X-Tornado landed over them in the garden. Sonic surveyed the area as he and Tails hopped out. "Hm…not what I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?"

"I dunno," Sonic mused, scratching his ear. "Guess I figured he'd be more of the city type." They followed the oak roots down the ledge to the front door, which stood open.

"…Hello?" Tails called inside. An uneasy twinge began in his gut. "Miss Maple?" He slipped in while Sonic kept a watchful eye outside. Within a few steps the gruesome scene came into view. "AAH!!!" He stood aghast with his hands over his mouth as Sonic raced in…and froze.

----------------------------------------------------------

Mercury slumbered with his plush on the forest floor, having dozed off in the prolonged silence between Shadow and Amy. Both parents sat lost in their despondent musings until Amy made another attempt at being the voice of reason.

"…We really need to find a way to get ahold of the authorities," she urged, long since having realized she'd left her phone on the apartment patio. "The longer we wait, the worse it looks…." Though unaware of the attempt on Mercury's life, she was relatively certain the stabbing hadn't been intentional. Her primary concern at this point was convincing police of the same. Besides that aspect, Maple's demise was a bit of a relief for her. She wanted to ream Shadow for even allowing her near Mercury in the first place, but now was not the time.

Shadow's eyes were distant as he finally responded. "I wonder what will become of Mercury…" Amy thought he feared that Mercury would be taken away, until he finished, "…if he'll grow up to be a monster like me, or if I'll end up destroying him too." She could only stare for a few seconds.

"Shadow, it was an accident. You didn't mean for that to happen…."

"Sooner or later everyone I care about ends up dead. It's a bit much to be a coincidence, don't you think?" He pressed his eyes shut and shook his head. "I was only kidding myself to think I could achieve a life of normalcy, and he's the one who has to pay for it. There's nowhere to even go from here…."

"Yes there is! Don't be so hard on yourself!" Amy countered. "If you're going to get through this, it's important that you hold together. You're not a monster; you're the ultimate life form, and Mercury's counting on you!" He eyed her intently as she went on. "Just from being with you today I can see how much you've changed since I met you, how much better of a father you are to him. You can't let him down now!"

His expression was troubled but soft as he continued to stare, seemingly forever. Finally he posed the question, "Where do I start?"

"Start by straightening this out with the police! The last thing we need is for them to think this was a homicide!" She leaned up and put her hand on his. "I'll go with you."

"…No," he protested after a moment of thought, "it's better you not get involved."

"I'm already involved!"

His eyes fastened to hers amidst his uncompromising tone. "Go home to your family." She withheld her objection, sensing he would not bend on the issue. Leaning back, she hastened to her feet.

"Well, let's get out of here so you can get this taken care of."

They'd walked a short distance when she spoke again. "Uhh, I'm not sure if you've heard about this already, but about a year and a half ago I had a daughter, named Misty Iris."

"I read about it," he alluded. "Congratulations."

"Thanks…." she replied, somewhat vacant. So he had been referring to Iris with the word "family." She admired how he even carried concern for someone he'd never met. "I'd show you a picture of her, but I forgot my cel phone…."

He cracked a fleeting smile. "Some other time."

Suddenly he stopped, barring Amy from another step with an outstretched arm. His eyes narrowed at the movement in the distance ahead. "…They're coming. Take Mercury and stay out of sight." He passed their son to her, who woke and began to whine. "_Sch!_" he sharply signaled to the boy, who immediately dropped his plush and curled up into a thorny ball. "He'll stay like this 'til you call his name. Go." He nudged her to the largest tree nearby, which she reluctantly crouched behind with Mercury in her lap. Shadow walked ahead to meet the officers heading their way.

"You there!" shouted one of the two, the same raccoon who had visited Maple's home years prior, "put your hands where I can see 'em and get down on your knees!" His partner, a komodo dragon towering six feet tall, looked warily on as Shadow complied. "You're under arrest for the murder of Maple the possum," the raccoon cited as he proceeded to restrain the hedgehog. No rights were declared because on Mobius, what few rights prisoners did have were not mandatorily disclosed. He glanced up as he worked, the colorful parasect plush on the ground having caught his eye. "Guillo, go see what that red thing is over there." Shadow gritted his teeth as the dragon began to make his way over to it; from that location, he'd be able to spot Mercury and Amy. Quickly setting his plan of diversion into motion, Shadow thrust himself back into the surprised raccoon and knocked him down before taking off in the opposite direction. Leaves and grass were strewn high as Guillo ground about and gave chase. Having his hands secured behind him made it difficult to run, but escape wasn't Shadow's intention. He merely led them as far as he could before being tackled by the enormous lizard.

"Don't be makin' me bite you," Guillo threatened in a tropical accent as bacteria-laden saliva oozed onto Shadow's quills and his claws dug in. He pinned him there with his sheer weight until the raccoon returned with the plush in hand.

"I'm not sure if it's his, but we'll take it just in case," he commented, making no mention of anything more. Though wracked with pain, Shadow breathed an inward sigh of relief that his efforts had allowed Amy and their son to escape.

----------------------------------------------------------

Sonic tore through the country surrounding Maple's home in search of Amy, his mind fraught with worry and regret. He'd received word from Tails that Shadow was now in custody, but Amy had not been with him. Where she was and what he'd done to her, he could only imagine. He hadn't even wanted Mercury to be given back, nor had he wanted to her to go along; if he'd just opened his stupid mouth and said so instead of feigning indifference, she wouldn't be missing right now, possibly dead or dying in some lonely ditch. He skidded several feet to a halt as his wristwatch began to buzz with an incoming call.

"Did you find her??" he answered, assuming it was Tails.

"Sonic," Amy's fretful voice came across, "where are you?"

"Amy!! I'm out looking for you! Where the heck _are_ you?! Are you okay??"

"Yeah, I just got back to the apartment with Mercury," she informed him.

"Don't move! I'll be right there!!" Dirt and gravel sprayed behind him as he rocketed home.

Within a couple of hours, he was through the front door and embracing her tightly. "I didn't mean all those horrible things I said," he told her, near tears. "I'm just glad you're okay…." Tears welled up in her own eyes at his heartwarming apology. "We came looking for you, and we found that poor lady-"

"Poor lady?!" Amy echoed, pushing away. "She was crazy!! She tried to bury me alive!! Shadow's the one who stopped her!" Sonic gaped dumbfounded as she breathlessly ran a hand over her quills. "But…he didn't mean to—" she paused, glancing at Mercury on the sofa, "he didn't mean for her to end up that way…." she finished, her voice hushed. Sonic wrinkled his snout in disbelief.

"Amy…." he grunted mildly through his teeth for Mercury's sake, "The sheers were still sticking out of her chest…."

"But it happened by accident!" she insisted. "He feels really bad about it." Noting his increasingly doubtful expression, she added, "You believe me, don't you…?"

Sonic blinked and let out a tense breath. "I believe…that for some reason you think you need to freakin' protect him. First Mercury, and now this! When the hell are you gonna wake up and stop being his stupid puppet?!"

Pain was etched into Amy's face as she cast her eyes down and brushed past him to the door. If he wouldn't believe her, maybe the police at least would. As she turned the knob and pulled, his level voice dared her, "Go ahead and walk out that door." She froze, then peered at him. His eyes were directed at her over his shoulder in a bitter leer. It wasn't just a dare; it was an ultimatum. Several seconds passed as she lingered there, speechless. Finally her question emerged through a broken sob.

"What do you want me to do??"

"FORGET HIM!!!" Sonic bellowed, throwing his hands in the air. "Is that so freaking much to ask?! If you want to be there for someone, be here for your children! For me! _We're_ the ones who need you, not him!!" He paused, blinking, then whispered, "_Please_…."

She stared for what seemed like an eternity until, at last, she slowly pushed the door shut.


	9. The Bad News

**Author's Note: The reviews I've received thus far have moved me to tears with their compliments and encouragement! Thank you so very, very much!! When it comes to writing, I love and live on feedback, so this means more to me than I can begin to describe! Again, thank you!!**

**Some major developments will be unfolding in this chapter, so I'd like to take this opportunity to kindly remind everyone (while encouraging more reviews, hehe) to please refrain from including spoilers in them, for the sake of other readers. Thanks again for your continued support, and hope you enjoy the rest of the story!**

--

Chapter 9 – The Bad News

Silent and forlorn, Mercury sat with his hands clasped in his lap at the dining table. The empty plate before him had not yet been bestowed with breakfast. Across from him sat Misty, who eyeballed him in decided fascination. His silvery eyes slowly lifted to hers as she smacked rhythmically on a piece of her sliced banana. After a long, wordless stare, Mercury lowered his eyes back to his lap.

Amy soon arrived at the table with a plate of fluffy buttermilk biscuits, and Sonic was right behind her with sage sausage and a variety of condiments. Sawing one open, she slathered a knife tip's worth of buttery spread on one half and blackberry jam over the other before pressing them back together over Mercury's plate. He blinked at it reluctantly despite the pangs of hunger rippling through his little stomach.

After proceeding to serve themselves, Sonic and Amy bowed their heads as she mildly said grace. "For the food we are about to receive, to the High One we extend our thanks." Sonic then speared an extra round of sausage with his fork.

"Mercury, want some sausage, bud?" As he motioned toward him with the meat, the boy quickly shrank away. Sonic pulled back a bit, cocking an eyebrow, then extended his hand again, more slowly. He snorted as it elicited the same response. "It's okay; I've had my rabies shots." Amy eyed him quietly, as she'd mostly done since the previous night when he'd demanded her uncompromised devotion. He smirked to her as he pointed a thumb at Mercury. "Heh…big contrast from how he used to be, huh?"

"The only thing he's seen you do since he got here is yell," she blandly pointed out. Sonic's smile faded as he dropped his head a bit. She was right; after yesterday he probably seemed like Godzilla to the poor kid. He didn't even want to speculate how _she_ was perceiving him right now. His insecurities over the man who'd had her first had gotten the better of him once again. As awful as it seemed to doubt her claims about what had taken place at Maple's home, though, he wasn't sure he could afford not to. He searched his mind for something he could say to comfort her while remaining firm in his position on things.

"Umm-" was all he got out just before her cel phone began to ring.

_If I could escape  
__And recreate a place as my own world__  
Then I could be your favorite girl__  
Forever__  
Perfectly together  
Tell me, boy, now wouldn't that be sweet?_

His brow lifted in surprise. It wasn't like her to ignore calls. "…You gonna get that?" he asked as the song continued to blare.

_If I could be sweet__  
I know I've been a real bad girl  
I didn't mean for you to get hurt_

"I'll check it later," she responded, then took a bite of her biscuit.

_Forever  
We can make it better  
Tell me, boy, now wouldn't that be sweet?  
Sweet escape  
Sweet escape_

Mercury was gawking at her by the time it finished, not being accustomed to cel phones. Amy smiled reassuringly. "Go ahead and eat, honey." His gaze turned back to his meal, and finally he took it into his hands and gnawed at its edge. Sonic remained silent, figuring it might be best to wait a while since Amy obviously wasn't in the mood to talk.

Following breakfast, Amy opened a cabinet after loading the dishwasher. She pushed the box of detergent gelpacs to the back, behind the spray cleaners and trash bags, until it was out of sight. "Sonic, could you run to the store and get some more dishwashing detergent, please?"

"Man, we're out already?" he called from the living room sofa. "Seems like we just got some not that long ago!"

She turned and opened the fridge. "And we're getting low on milk too."

"All right," he resigned, springing to his feet, "this show sucks anyway. Want me to use the card?"

"Yeah." She plucked her purse from the kitchen bar and dug it out. Sonic received it and shuffled it over his fingers.

"Okay, be back in four minutes and thirty seconds or less," he challenged himself, "starting…" then pulled open the front door, "…now!" and slammed it shut behind him. Mercury and Misty, who sat playing with her blocks on the floor, both jumped. Amy waited several seconds to make sure he didn't come back for anything, then reached down and unhooked her cel phone from the laces of her high-rise boot. She didn't have much time. After selecting a number from her contacts, she switched to speaker mode as it dialed out. It only rang once.

"This is Speed," Sam's voice carried to her. She depressed the speaker button a second time and lifted the phone to her mouth.

"Hi, Sam, it's Amy. Did you try to call?"

"Oh, yeah, I got the info you wanted on Shadow." Though the volume was high, she raised the phone to her ear to make sure she caught every word. "Seems they don't have a formal court system in that community, so he's going to be brought before a local citizen-appointed council for a hearing, and they'll decide what to do with him from there. From the impression I'm getting, it'll pretty much be hit or miss, which means he'll either be set free or put to death." He paused, but there was total silence on Amy's end. "…I asked them about the method of execution, and they say they use a gas chamber."

"W-when is the hearing?" Amy finally managed.

"It's going on right now, actually. These people don't screw around." Her heart sank. At this short of notice, there was no way she'd be able to arrange to go without Sonic knowing. She let out a couple of distraught breaths before putting the phone back to her mouth.

"I'm scared, Sam! What if he gets convicted? He didn't mean to kill her; it was like I said in the e-mail," her voice trembled. "Isn't there something you can do? Can you transfer him to the jail here, at least? He'd have a better chance here!"

Sam hesitated. "I…would need to get authorization. It would take a lot of time and paperwork…and to be honest, I don't know if we have that much time…."

"You're the _Speed King_!' Amy reminded him. "You never let something like this stop you before!"

There was a tense sigh. "This is different, Amy. If I push this I could be putting my entire career on the line…." She was quiet for several moments.

"…I……I wouldn't ask for this if it wasn't a matter of life and death…and I don't know who else I can turn to. Please do this for me..." her voice reduced to a near whisper. Sam was then silent, so much so and for so long that Amy began to fear he'd hung up. "…Hello?"

"I'm here." Another silence followed. "…………I can't make any promises, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Sam!!" The tears finally spilled out. "Thank you so much! I really appreciate it…." She sniffed against her running nose.

"Don't mention it," he replied, then stressed, "to _anyone_. Understood?"

"I won't," she assured him. It needed to remain a secret for her sake too. "Thank you!"

"I'll let you know as soon as I have something to report."

"Okay! Thank you again! Good bye!"

His end was quiet; he'd hung up. Amy breathed a staggering sigh, having received some peace of mind. As she wiped her eyes dry she was startled to feel a tug on her dress. Peering down, she found Mercury standing there.

"Can I go home now?" he pleaded in a soft voice. Amy crouched to his level.

"We need to stay here right now, darling, but I'm working on getting your daddy here so he can be with you, okay?" His sorrowful eyes turned slightly hopeful.

"Mama too?'

Before Amy could answer, Sonic came tearing in the door. "Hadn't been for the stupid line I'd have been done in half the time!" he rattled off in frustration. Mercury frowned and retreated back to his sister's side, who'd dozed off on the floor.

--

Sam Speed shifted his cherry Mustang into park at 11:55 the morning after his conversation with Amy. He scowled at the time; having set out yesterday evening, he'd dubbed himself Twilight Rider, but locating the police station that served the farming community in which Maple's residence was included had been far more difficult than expected. Now he had to come up with a new name.

A rush of air conditioning greeted him as he stepped inside the building. Of that he was very glad, for he was here without his own department's knowledge and was thus feeling more than a little apprehensive. He cleared his throat as he approached the front desk.

"Good morning, sir," the lemur clerk beat him to the punch, "What can I do for you?"

"Good morning. I'm here on behalf of the Station Square Police Department of the state of California of the United States of America of the planet Earth," he squeezed from a single breath, deliberately over-specific. The lemur lifted his brow as he stated his business. "I've been instructed to retrieve Shadow the hedgehog from your custody so that he may be transferred to Station Square for handling under local jurisdiction." He flashed his badge and false paperwork with showcase confidence, hoping the lemur was too ignorant to sense that he was totally BSing his way through this.

"Shadow…" the clerk echoed, "oh, him. Wow, you sure came for him quick," he chuckled. "No offense to y'all, but normally when we've got someone you want it takes a week or more for one of you to show up, which gets to be a problem if you know what I mean!" Sam did find the comment a little offensive, since a week by his department's standards was considered expedited, but he forced a laugh anyway. The lemur went on, "He was actually supposed to be turned over to our other facility today, but lemme go check the PEC and see if we've still got him." Sam took a seat nearby as the lemur disappeared through a door in the back. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

_Stay calm, everything's going fine, no one suspects a thing_... _Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh_ S_hadow had better appreciate this_….

As he waited his mind began to imagine a barrage of different things, both realistic and ridiculous, that could go wrong. In one scenario the clerk called his department to verify things, while another had Shadow blatantly refusing to cooperate, and still another had them fleeing through a torrent of searing gunfire. Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he staggered to his feet and headed over to the cooler for a drink. The water refreshed his dry throat but did little to soothe his pounding heart.

Finally, the lemur returned, holding the door open behind him. "Good news; we've still got him. C'mon back to the PEC with me." Sam followed him down the corridor, scoping out the place as he went. The wanted posters of several Mobians were tacked to a lengthy bulletin board on one side, while on the other there were photos of officers across the region who had been honored for their service above and beyond the call of duty. Sam was so distracted by them that he nearly collided with the lemur when he came to a stop. "Here we are," the clerk announced as he unlocked the entrance. "I put his belongings on the counter for you. We have bags, also, if you need one, but there's a charge of fifty ducats…or, uh, roughly twelve US Dollars if I'm not mistaken." Sam wrinkled his brow, wondering why in the world he'd need a 12-dollar bag when he walked into the PEC and it suddenly became very clear what the acronym stood for: Post-Execution Cell.

He was too late.

His face went chalk pale as he approached the table that held Shadow's body. The only thing he could think of was the sickening efficiency of _this_ particular community's justice system. Any other one in the universe, and he would have had weeks or even months or years…but it had to be this one.

Noting Sam's distraught trance, the lemur nudged his arm. "I take it you're not used to this. It's kinda disturbing the first few times, but I've been doing this for years, so it don't really bother me none. I can help you get him in the bag and all. Oh, did you need one, or no?"

"…Yeah," Sam's voice barely escaped.

"All right." As the lemur retrieved a body bag, Sam leaned over and slowly slipped his arms under Shadow. The hedgehog's body draped over them, still limp; the execution could not have been more than a few hours ago. As he eased him from the table, a dull thud sounded on its surface. Sam glanced down and discovered, to his added nausea, that one of Shadow's quills had fallen off.

--

"Hey, Mach Million, got your voice mail," Sonic greeted Sam as the sullen cop emerged from his car in the driveway of his home. "So what's the big ado?" He strode over as Sam leaned the back seat forward.

"This," Sam replied simply, unzipping the body bag as Sonic peeked around him. The blue hedgehog's eyes flared wide, and his utterly astonished face whipped from the body to Sam and back.

"…Is he…?!"

"He's dead," Sam confirmed, leaning against the front seat. "I went there this morning to take him into SSPD custody, but they'd already executed him…." Sonic went speechless, his shock quickly melting into remorse. "I called you here to ask your opinion...on whether or not Amy and Mercury should see him like this."

Sonic clung to the car frame as he hung and shook his head. "………No. It's best they don't." Sam nodded.

"All right, then. I'm going to bring him inside, if you could get the door for me." He handed Sonic his keys.

After making their way into the basement, Sam gestured with a nod at a workspace in its midst. "Clear that table off so I can set him down." Sonic swept the tools and junk cluttering it aside with his arm, and the bag was carefully laid over it. Sam then made his way to the corner of the room, noting, "I have a trunk that can be used as a coffin." He removed the contents of a large wooden chest and dragged it over. After wiping it down with a slightly grease-soiled rag, he stepped over to the table and fully unzipped Shadow's vinyl cocoon. "Hold the bag." As he lifted the body out, his teeth gritted to the thuds of two more shedding quills, larger ones this time. Sonic froze aghast, the reality suddenly having been driven home. He couldn't stop staring at them while Sam lowered Shadow into the makeshift casket. "Yeah, this should work," Sam commented, then peered over to his absent friend. "Sonic?" The glossy green eyes shifted to him. "Should we include those?" he inquired of the quills. Sonic eyed them again, frowning, then picked up the entire bag and brought it over rather than handling them directly. Sam pulled them out and placed them at Shadow's side. As he did so, a sudden series of rapid thumps on the side of the trunk caused them both to jump.

"What the heck was that?!" Sonic sputtered.

"It's my cel phone," Sam realized, unhooking it from his belt and checking the caller ID. "It's Amy…."

Sonic made a wounded face. He'd informed her of Sam's voice mail, so her call came as no surprise, but it was the inevitable hurdle he'd hoped was farther down the road. "You gonna answer it?"

"She's gonna know something's wrong if I don't." Sam flipped the phone open. "This is Sam." After listening to her end briefly, he responded, "Yes, he's here with me. …I just needed some help with something... ……Yes there is. I'll…tell you more soon. …Bye." Sam snapped the phone shut and turned back to Sonic, finding him with his face buried in his folded arms at the corner of the trunk. After a moment's pause, he pressed, "It's time to go let her know." Sonic kept his head down but nodded slowly.

"…I"ll be up in a minute."

Sam took the cue and walked out. Once he had gone upstairs, Sonic lifted his head and somberly addressed the hedgehog in the chest. "…It's funny………all these years since this whole thing began, I hated you so much and wished so many times that you were dead………and now I just wish I could bring you back. All she wanted to do was help you, but I was too busy being a selfish asswad to understand." He paused pensively and shook his head. "I know it's too late to tell you I'm sorry…but…I swear I'll do everything in my power to make it up to Mercury…and I'll make sure he grows up knowing what a great and dedicated man you truly were." He pulled Shadow's hands from his sides and rested them overlapping on his stomach. "Anyway…I hope your afterlife is a better one than the last. Rest in peace, Shadow." With that, he gripped the lid of the chest and gently eased it down.

On the way to Amy's apartment a short while later, Sonic peered over his shoulder at the box in the back seat of the car. "What's in the box?"

"Those are Shadow's things," Sam replied. "The clerk at the station said he requested that they go to Amy." Sonic reached back and pulled the box onto his lap. Inside, he found a suede messenger bag, a ratty plush in the likeness of a parasect pokemon, and a sealed envelope with "Amy Rose" handwritten across it. He immediately picked up the envelope, desiring profoundly to open it, but he didn't. If nothing else, he'd at least pay Shadow this one last respect. Instead he opened the messenger bag and checked its contents. Aside from a bunch of green beans, there was a small box wrapped in brown paper. Sonic closed the bag.

The box of possessions was in his arms as he and Sam entered the apartment. Mercury and Misty lost mind of their toys and gazed curiously at the newcomer.

"Amy?" Sonic called for her, setting the box on the sofa. She soon emerged from the bathroom and lit up a bit upon finding they'd arrived.

"Oh, you're back! Hi, Sam." She knelt beside the children and gestured up to him. "Mercury, Iris, this is Mr. Sam." Addressing him again, she asked, "Iris was just born the last time you were here, huh?"

Sam nodded. "That's right. She's really grown since I last saw her." He stepped over to them and leaned in. "Do you remember me, Misty?" Eyes wide, the lavender hedgehog swallowed nervously. "Hm," he chuckled, "guess not."

Mercury's curiosity overcame his fear. "What are you?"

"What am I?" Sam reflected. "I'm a man. You've never seen a man before?" The boy shook his head. "That's right, you've spent most of your life on Mobius. Here on Earth there are many humans." Mercury's eyes grew even wider.

"This is Earth?"

"Yes, you're on Earth now."

The child looked down, blinking, pondering. Amy stood and made her way over to the couch.

"What's in the box?" She froze in her tracks as Mercury's plush and the bag Shadow had on him the day he was taken into custody came into view. "…Where did you get this??"

"From the Mobian police," Sonic answered. Amy looked at him, terrified that he'd found her out, but there was no anger in his face. He added, "Let's put the kids in another room real quick." Amy picked up Mercury while Sonic retrieved Misty, and both were closed up in the bedroom. Sonic prompted Amy to take a seat on the sofa as they returned to the living room. Her heart continued to pound as she did so, unsure of what he knew or was about to say. "Well," he sighed, "first of all, this morning Sam went to the Mobius police to take Shadow into local custody." Amy darted a quick glance at Sam, who stood by with his arms crossed. "But…." His eyes fell as he trailed off.

"They refused to hand him over?" Amy filled in, her voice meek. Sam shifted his weight and drew a breath to finish.

"He…he's been executed, Amy. I'm very sorry."

It was like it took several seconds to even register what he'd said. "……What?" she breathed, blinking in disbelief. She rose from the couch. "It's only been a couple of days! There's no way! They probably just told you that because they didn't want you to have him!"

"No," Sam refuted, "they turned him over. The body is at my house now."

Her hand cupped over her mouth and her breaths grew shallow. It wasn't long before she toppled aside, missing the couch and landing on the floor. Sonic attempted to help her up, but she shoved him back.

"_Get away from me!!_" she lashed out in a shrill sob. "This is what you wanted all along!! I hope you're happy now!!" She choked and wiped furiously at her eyes, their emeralds burning into him. "What am I supposed to tell Mercury?!" Sonic remained on his hands and knees beside her, daring only say one thing.

"I'm sorry…."

Her fists wiped her eyes again and then slammed down on his back. "I HATE YOU!! I HATE YOU!! _I HATE YOU!!_" He turned his head away as she pummeled him again and again before she finally collapsed. Sam swallowed and retrieved the envelope from the box.

"He wanted you to have this," he told her, kneeling and extending it to her. She lifted her face from the floor and accepted it with a shaking hand. Sonic quietly sidled away and went to check on the children. Tearing off the envelope's right end, she removed a letter inked in Shadow's handwriting:

_This is where my chosen path has led, and I'm prepared to accept it. Your forgiveness is neither deserved nor expected, but I want to apologize for the pain I've brought into your life, and for failing to keep my promise to you. Though it probably doesn't seem like it, I honestly had the best intentions for Mercury. I was just too stupid to see the danger I was putting him in until it was too late. In my absence, I trust you will raise him up in the inspiring warmth you've always held. And I'm sure Sonic will be a good father to him. He's not a bad guy…just annoyingly lucky._

_I do ask that you forgive Maple. Having tasted insanity for myself on more than one occasion, I honestly believe she couldn't help what she did. I blame myself for putting Mercury in that situation in the first place. Ironically, I thought letting her be his mother would be better for him than no mother at all. But in her defense, she did love him very much and really was good to him, up until the end._

_If you receive my possessions from the police, please give the small brown box to Mercury. It's his birthday present. Most importantly, please tell him I'm sorry. I would rather have died a million times over than bring this grief upon him. I can only hope that someday he will come to forgive me._

An hour later, Sonic and Sam were back at the house. It had taken an exhaustive effort on their part to convince Amy not to come, that she was better off not seeing Shadow in his current condition, but not wanting her to be alone either, they'd asked Chris to come by and stay with her and the kids while they handled the burial. Chris readily obliged and even invited them to use a tract of his land for the grave site.

Sam clutched the parasect plush in his hand, which they'd collectively decided to include with Shadow as a parting gift. He opened the chest and nestled the toy into Shadow's folded arm while Sonic sought a shovel. Just as he removed one from a rack built into the wall, Sonic jumped at the sound of Sam's startled cry. He spun around, and Sam was flattened against the wall, his face like a scene frozen from a horror movie. Sonic couldn't blame him.

Sitting up with his hand gripping the edge of the chest was Shadow the hedgehog.


	10. The Next Life

Chapter 10 – The Next Life

Sonic clapped a hand over his head for much-needed weight as he stepped toward the chest.

"Hhh-oly sh-" his short breath couldn't even finish, after which he broke into nervous laughter. "I think I'm starting to see why they call you the ultimate life form…!" His shock and humor quickly faded as he neared and realized that Shadow was straining just to breathe. Following a couple of feeble wheezes, his head slumped over the edge of the chest, and his final, largest quill tumbled down against its sides. Sonic shot a glance to Sam, who had just found his own composure. The shaken human curled an arm over Shadow and pulled him from the trunk barely conscious. Sonic grabbed for his arms to support him as his legs buckled under his weight. "I've got him," he assured Sam. As the black hedgehog's head tipped forward, a two-inch surgical scar was clearly visible where his primary quill had been. Sonic blinked at it for a moment before proceeding to assist him with his first few steps since his attempted execution. "You okay to walk?" Shadow continued to wheeze but managed a tedious, crooked gait.

"Get him upstairs," Sam directed as he hurried to Shadow's other side and assumed the brunt of his weight. It took a few minutes, but finally the three reached the kitchen on the main floor. Shadow leaned against a nearby counter as Sam filled a glass with cold tap water and Sonic stood watchfully by. "Drink as much of this as you can," Sam urged as he handed the glass to Shadow. After a single swallow, he barely got the glass set on the counter before vomiting the liquid out onto the floor. As he doubled over and continued to forcibly dry heave, Sonic backed off and observed with a slightly cocked eyebrow.

"Wow."

Shadow staggered and nearly toppled over after finishing, prompting Sonic to catch him again. "Whoop, don't wanna land on that!"

"This isn't good," Sam sighed, dropping a kitchen towel over the puddle. "He needs medical attention."

"What, the MRT?" Sonic speculated a reference to the Mobian Research Team.

"Anything. But first," Sam added, suddenly remembering his less than legitimate role in things, "we need to get him out of here."

With a crumbling breath, Shadow lifted his head and attempted to speak. Neither Sonic nor Sam made out the single word that escaped him.

"Say that again…?" Sonic prompted, his body still acting as a crutch. He and Sam stood motionless as Shadow pushed his voice past the pain.

"…_M…Mercury_…."

"Mercury…?" Sonic echoed through his surprise. Even on the brink of death, his son was still the first thing on his mind. "He's back at the apartment. I take it you wanna go see him." Receiving Shadow's nod, his eyes jumped to Sam. "Well, we know where to head to!"

After making their way out to the car, Sonic pulled open the passenger side door and leaned the seat forward. He then glanced to his left at Shadow, who had just noticed his reflection in the rear window. His crimson eyes narrowed as his hand slowly reached up and felt the back of his head. Sonic bit his lip and leaned into the car as Sam got in the other side. "Hey, Sam," he whispered, "you got anything that Shadow can cover himself with? It's gotta be embarrassing for him to be seen like that. I know I wouldn't want to."

"I think I have a hooded pullover in the trunk," Sam recalled, tugging the appropriate lever and climbing back out of the car. Sonic backed up and helped Shadow in, soon after which Sam returned with the shirt in hand, navy blue with a bright yellow SSPD pocket logo in block letters. "Get in the back with him and make sure he stays conscious," he requested as he handed it over. Sonic nodded and ducked in, quickly shuffling past Shadow to the other side. After Sam shut the door, the blue hedgehog offered the garment.

"Thought you might wanna…put this on…." he muttered. After eyeing it quietly for a few moments, Shadow accepted the shirt and lifted it overhead, letting its generous girth slide down over him. The hood came to rest on his ears, to which he tightened the drawstring until they were forced flat. Sonic knew at that point that he was grateful for the gesture. As Sam fastened himself in and started up the engine, Sonic pondered a topic to bring up to keep Shadow focused. "Uh…so, did you know that possum lady very long?" Shadow, whose eyes had drawn shut, reopened them with a wounded scowl. Sonic grimaced, sensing the topic was a bit _too_ loaded. "I mean…is it true she tried to attack Amy?" He followed the question with a mental slap to the forehead. _Yeah, way to lighten the subject_….

"…She wasn't herself," Shadow rasped after a few seconds' silence. Sonic could only stare, amazed to find him defending her despite his predicament. Loyalty had always been one of his strong points, but something was different this time. _He_ was different.

Sonic forced a swallow and turned away before continuing. "In any case…I appreciate your looking out for Amy…." Up until now it hadn't really sunk in that he'd saved her life, mostly because he hadn't wanted to believe it. His roots of hate had formed a tree too dense to allow Shadow to come under a positive light, but now that its ugly leaves were beginning to wither and drop off, things were starting to become much more clear. He cast another glance at Shadow, who had begun to slump forward, the drawstrings of the shirt dangling under him. The ailing hedgehog's face finally came to rest beside his lap. "…Shadow?" Carefully Sonic reached over and nudged his shoulder a couple of times, to no response. He lifted and leaned him back against the seat. "Uh, Sam, he's not doin' so hot!" Sam's eyes found them in the rearview mirror.

"Considering how he's supposed to be, I'd say he's doing pretty damn well," he remarked, accelerating nonetheless. Sonic worked to revive Shadow with a few stiff pats to the face.

"C'mon, wake up…you wanna see Mercury, don't ya?" The mention of his son's name caused his eyes to roll out from under their heavy lids. "Hang in there; we're almost there! Can't come this far just to let him down now!" The words rang in Shadow's ears with an air of familiarity. Amy had told him something along those lines just two days before. He dragged another shallow breath as he nodded.

Within minutes they'd arrived at the apartment complex. Sonic hurried out the driver's side and around to the other to assist Shadow, who was attempting to clamber out on his own. The hooded hedgehog pushed him away and staggered forth into the parking lot. Sonic quickly took hold of his arm again, and again he was forced back. The two soon wound up in a physical struggle, carrying on until Shadow was on the ground, glaring dazedly up at the hedgehog standing with his fists clenched beside him and his ears bent back. "Just let me help you, okay?!" he spat, his face flushed. "I feel bad enough as it is!" Knitting his brow at him, Shadow honestly wondered why he even cared, but he was in no mood or condition to further contend. He looked away as he offered up his arm, which Sonic hooked over his shoulders with a huff. The two advanced this way to the door marked 702.

Sam entered the apartment first. "Amy, Chris," he addressed them in the living room, "I have some…surprising news…." Before continuing, he scanned the room. "…Where are the kids?"

"They've taken to hiding when they hear someone at the door," Chris commented, gesturing toward the bedroom. Amy sat on the floor, still clutching Playskool evidence of the children's recent presence. Sam nodded.

"Maybe it's just as well. Come on in, Sonic."

Chris' and Amy's somber expressions simultaneously warped wide as Shadow was brought by Sonic through the door.

"H-he wasn't executed??" Chris stammered, to which Sam cocked his head.

"Oh, he was," the Speed King assured him. "He's just one tough bastard."

Having scrambled to her feet, Amy approached with decided caution, as if the hedgehog in the hooded pullover could at any moment deflate into a cruel joke. She stopped and stood before him, gazing into his eyes, until at last her disbelief was fully quelled. Following her faltering countenance, she enveloped him in her weeping embrace, leaving dark spots on the navy blue material with her elated tears. Shadow remained motionless aside from his labored breaths. Sonic blinked, frowning, but he allowed her this moment.

"Careful, Amy; he's not in the best shape," came Sam's caution just as her hands took initial note of his missing quills. "Let's let him sit down and rest. Do you have the number to the MRT?"

"Wait a minute," Chris interjected as Shadow was shown to the sofa, "what about that incident with Dr. Garrett? Are you sure you wanna call them?"

"What we need is someone who can keep this under wraps," Sam advised, his voice growing stringent. "If the wrong people find out about this, I am going to be fired to Kingdom Come. We need to call someone we can trust."

"Well," Sonic brought up, "Dr. Garrett keeps telling me and Amy and he owes us one, so maybe he _would_ be the best one to call. Even with what Shadow did to him I think he'll be more than willing to cooperate."

As they'd stood around discussing their medical options, Shadow had taken a seat upon the couch and leaned over its spongy armrest for support. He finally drew a deep breath and spoke, straining to be heard over the other voices.

"…Where's Mercury…?" His face sank to the armrest as everyone turned to him.

"Oh, yeah, we need to give him some alone time with his kid," Sonic uttered, heading for the bedroom. "Are they in here?"

Amy blinked, stunned at Sonic's sudden supportiveness. "Y-yeah…." She hurried after him and seconds later returned holding Mercury's hand. "Somebody special's here to see you!" she informed him as they came around the corner. The child's eyes instantly lit up when they fell upon his father.

"Daddyyyyyyy!!!" was squealed all the way over. Shadow smiled and faulted at the same time, and the tears came fast as he reached an arm around his son and pulled him in close. Everyone else disappeared into the bedroom as he grieved into the boy's shoulder more bitterly than ever in his life. "What are you wearing, Daddy?" Mercury asked, confusion containing his excitement. "…Are you crying? Why are you crying?" Shadow could do nothing else for several seconds more.

"I…" he finally managed, "…I didn't think…I'd get to see you again…."

"Why not?"

He shook his downward head and pressed his eyes tight. "……I'm sorry...I'm so sorry…………I've done something horrible…."

Mercury furrowed his brow, comprehending only one thing. "Don't be sad, Daddy!" he urged with a hug. "I was sad when you was gone, but now I'm not!" Shadow nodded and struggled to catch his breath.

"How…how've you been? Have they…been taking…good care of you here?"

"Yeah…" Mercury replied slowly, "but can we go home now? I like it better at home. I like Mama's food…."

"We're……going to have a…new home soon…" Shadow breathed, "…but first…."

"I don't want a new home! I want the old one!" the boy interrupted. Shadow stared quietly for a long moment.

"……We can't go back there anymore, Mercury…. I'm sorry..."

The child abruptly turned away, his head bobbing in the telltale sign of grief. "…I…" he choked, "…I wish I didn't make that stupid wish!!" Squinting, his father gently turned him back around.

"What wish…?"

"For my birthday…."

"……What did you wish for…?" the question came out just above a whisper after a breathless pause. Mercury sniffed and rubbed his eyes.

"…I wished that…I could go to Earth…."

Shadow stared for only a second before forcing himself upright and grabbing his son by the arms. "Listen to me," he demanded in the strongest voice he could muster. "_This_…_is not_…_your fault_. Don't you _dare_ blame yourself. Do you understand??" He gasped against the tears' suffocating return. Looking a bit frightened, Mercury nodded silently. Shadow released him and pressed a hand against his own chest. The stress was proving too much for his ravaged system; tremendous pressure seized his heart, and he could feel his consciousness waxing numb. As he lay down and curled himself up to ease the pain, his mind took comfort in knowing that, if he didn't wake again, at least he'd stopped Mercury from considering himself to blame.

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Amy's nervous voice echoed Dr. Garrett's recommendation. "A transfusion…?"

"It's his best chance," affirmed Garrett, who had come on condition of secrecy. "His blood is extremely unique and responds very differently to toxins from that of any other creature on Mobius or Earth. When the gas hit his system, his eukaryotic equivalent responded very aggressively and actually began to propel the blood themselves. I'm guessing based on what we've learned from Mercury's bloodwork that they also were able to continue performing cellular respiration despite the lack of sufficient oxygen. These two factors combined undoubtedly saved his life."

"Oookaaay," Sonic responded after a brief silence, "now could we get that in English?"

Chris cleared his throat. "He's saying that Shadow's blood started to move and breathe on its own…right?" His eyes fell back on Garrett, who tilted his head.

"Not quite. Respiration in this case refers more to the cells' ability to sustain themselves rather than actually breathing, but you are absolutely correct about the blood's movement. When I got here a few hours ago, his heart had completely stopped, yet his blood pressure was well above average." Everyone gaped. "Even after a dose of atropine it's still drastically exceeding his heart rate…which is where we have a problem. If the cells continue to function at this rate, and they most likely will, he's going to incur severe tissue damage to his major organs, which will certainly be fatal."

"So the same thing that kept him alive is killing him now?" Sam summarized.

"Unfortunately. When working with Mercury's blood we were unable to find a means of successfully treating the condition, so I believe replacement is our most promising option."

"Well then," Sonic took on an upbeat tone, "guess we'd better get started!" Amy blinked at him, then voiced the question pressing her mind most.

"How does this transfusion work?"

Garrett adjusted his glasses. "Basically what we'll do is start by removing a portion of Shadow's blood, which will then be replaced by that of a donor, in this case being Mercury."

"Mercury?!" Sonic and Amy both gasped. Garrett blinked at them.

"Yes, of course. His is the only blood that matches Shadow's."

"But," Amy's face began to pale, "w-what'll happen to Mercury??"

"Oh, he should fine," Garrett assured her. "It's much like when we collected the samples from you. There's very little risk involved, and we won't take any more blood than he can safely give." The hedgehogs breathed a sigh of relief. "The main concern will be to keep him calm and still."

Sonic snorted. "Definitely don't look at me, then!"

"I should also stress that this is an experimental measure," Garrett added. "We have no way of knowing how Shadow will actually respond to the blood, whether it will help at all. All we can do is try it and pray that it works."

After a tense sigh, Sonic turned to Amy. "Give it a try?" With her nod, he walked into their room and crouched to peer under the bed. "Come on out, kids." Misty crawled out first, after a timid scan for the humans. "Mercury, c'mon…your dad needs your help." Finally the boy emerged, blinking his puffy eyes. Amy soon joined them, bending to stroke her son's head.

"Your father is very sick, Mercury, but we think he can get better if you help us out with something. Do you want to help?" He nodded quickly, and she took him by the hand into the living room. "All right, we need you to do exactly what Dr. Garrett tells you to, and you need to stay very quiet."

Garrett opened the front door. "I'll bring the supplies from the van and get them set up."

Forty-five minutes later, equal amounts of blood had been pulled from both father and son. Mercury snored lightly on the cot beside the couch while Shadow remained unconscious, shivering as if cold despite being very warm to the touch. Garrett proceeded to remove the bag containing the hyperactive fluids and introduce that of the hopeful supply. Ten minutes into the transfusion, Shadow opened his eyes.

"It's an excellent sign," Garrett commented as the others gathered around. Shadow peered over his own body first, realizing the shirt was missing, then discovered all the eyes on him as he began to look for it. He blinked, sullen and speechless.

"How are you feeling, Shadow?" Sam spoke up.

How was he feeling? He, the ultimate life form, was lying there broken and helpless before those he'd wronged, who now stood beholding him in his naked shame. All that came out, however, was another question.

"……Why are you helping me…?"

The others exchanged odd glances.

"Because…we want to," Sonic sounded more like he was asking than telling.

"Because we care," Amy took it a step further.

"It's the right thing to do," Chris expressed wholeheartedly.

Lastly, Sam pointed out, "Your son needs you."

Shadow's eyes fell on the boy napping nearby. "…How am I supposed to take care of him now? I can't even help myself…."

"Don't worry; we'll help!" Amy offered. "You can both stay here until you get better!"

"Uhh…." Sonic lifted his finger but quickly dropped it at Amy's darting glare.

Sam tilted his head. "As far as the Mobian officials know, you're dead, and I'm not about to say anything, so this is a chance to make a fresh start."

"Yeah," Chris chimed in, "you can make a new life here. If there's anything you need to help you get back on your feet, just let me know!"

Shadow gaped at the offers of exceeding generosity. It'd been the last thing he'd expected. His stunned gaze jumped to each one of them, finding warmth and sincerity. Even Sonic cracked a smile and gave a reassuring nod. He turned away, embarrassed that the tears had come to his eyes once more.

"……I………promise you won't regret it…."


	11. The Gloaming

Chapter 11 – The Gloaming

"Where we going…?"

Sonic smiled at the first words mumbled by Misty after her waking yawn. He popped her up a bit in his arm for a better hold as she leaned away from his shoulder and looked about.

"We're headin' to the mall," he answered, glancing down to make sure Mercury was still beside him. The boy walked with a melancholy disposition, having soaked in the circumstances of his new life for only a week. Not deeming him ready for the concept of actual death yet, Shadow had explained Maple's endless absence on more symbolic terms. Mercury now knew she had to remain with the garden, but he had yet to understand why. At this point only time would ease the weight from his heart; Sonic figured a little distraction wouldn't hurt either, though.

"I like the mall," Misty commented casually, paying no mind to her brother. She tugged at the bottom edge of her sea green corduroy jumper.

"I like it too!" her father returned, then lowered his gaze and tone to ask, "You've never been to a mall, have you, Merc?" Seeing the boy shake his head, he added, "Well, you're in for a treat, then!"

"I like peanut bu'er," Misty professed for no reason in particular. Mercury furrowed his brow at her, eliciting a chuckle from Sonic.

"She gets kinda silly when we go out." A high-pitched giggle escaped her as he nuzzled his face into hers. "You're silly, aren't cha? Heh heh!" Mercury blinked and cast his silvery eyes aside. He liked it better when she didn't talk.

A brief trolley ride later, they were at the east entrance of Mega Square Mall. True to its name, the shopping center was a massive medley of well known merchants spanning four spiraling stories. Mercury gaped in awe of the scores of sights and sounds competing for his attention as Sonic carefully guided him through the crowds.

"Ohh! I like that! I like that!" Misty bounced in her father's arm as she pointed excitedly to the Build-A-Bear Workshop.

"All right, all right, we'll go in there in a minute," Sonic assured her, "but first we're gonna let Mercury pick where he wants to go!" He leaned close to the little black hedgehog to be heard over the noise. "What do you think, Merc? See anything you like?" Mercury hinted a smile as his eyes traveled from store to store. Finally he pointed at Spencer's Gifts.

"That one."

Sonic laughed. "Why does that not surprise me? All right, hang on tight and we'll head in!" Emboldened by the excitement, Mercury gripped Sonic's hand with both of his and shuffled extra close as they squeezed past other customers into the shop. Blacklight strobes flickered wildly in the corner, casting contorted shadows across the array of grotesque merchandise. Sonic rubbed his chin as he browsed a few shelves, then jolted to a halt upon arriving at another. "Whoops!" His hand quickly slipped over Mercury's eyes and Misty was turned aside. "Let's skip this little area!" he chuckled sheepishly as they sidled past.

After a few hours of kid-driven browsing throughout the mall, the hedgehogs stood in the food court beside a specialty American grill. "Iris, think you can handle dog pogs?" Sonic asked, meaning by the term a hot dog cut into small pieces.

"I like daw paws!" she gladly agreed. He gave a confirming nod and turned to Mercury.

"And what do ya say we chow down on a couple of what just happen to be the best chili dogs this side of the planet?"

Mercury blinked sullenly and shifted his eyes away before answering. "…I don't like chili…." Sonic could only stare with a smear of horror across his face. Several moments passed before he budged to the sparse throes of perturbed laughter.

"…Of course…."

The taste atrocity quickly depreciated for him when he noticed tears welling in the boy's eyes. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's not a big deal! Just pick out whatever you're in the mood for, okay?" Mercury nodded, though the issue wasn't what was troubling him. It merely reminded him of the first time he'd tried chili, which Maple had made.

As they sat consuming their lunch a short while later, Sonic addressed the toddler's lingering gloom with an upward nod. "What's on your mind, Merc?" …Iris, don't put them in there…." He dug dog pogs out of the pocket on Misty's jumper before returning his attention to Mercury. "What're you thinkin' about?"

"…Mama…."

Sonic lifted the corner of his mouth consolingly. "I know it's hard for you right now, and this'll probably be hard to understand, but…you know, Maple wasn't your real mom. She was…a _pretend_ mom. You know what I'm sayin'?" The child's face told him he didn't, but he went on. "Your real mom is Miss Amy. She gave you up when you were a baby so you could be with your dad. That's why you're here with her now." Sonic couldn't quite read the mix of emotions in Mercury's expression beyond confusion but patted him on the head as teardrops soaked into his cheese fries. "It'll be okay. Things'll get better. You'll see."

Once back at the apartment, Sonic was surprised to find Amy in the kitchen, removing a dish of chicken alfredo from the oven. "You got off early?"

"Yeah," she replied and swung the oven door shut, "They said I looked kinda stressed out and told me to go home and rest." A bit of laughter jostled the words. "They said I could have tomorrow off too, but I don't think we can really afford that right now. You have to work tonight?"

"Mmm, yeah," Sonic answered with a bit of hesitation. He glanced at Shadow, asleep on the sofa, then turned back just in time to see Mercury slap Amy's hand away as she reached out to stroke his head. Husband and wife gaped wide at the unprecedented behavior, followed by the child's angry voice.

"You're not my mom!!!"

After he shut himself in the bathroom, it wasn't long before Amy's emerald eyes were boring into Sonic.

"What did you say to him??"

Sonic balked. "Why's it gotta be my fault?!"

"He was fine just this morning! Why is he so against me all of a sudden?"

"I just told him you're his real mother, that's all," he divulged as he set Misty down. "I didn't know he was gonna take it that way!"

"Uh!" she expressed in a sharp but hollow breath. "He just lost what may as well have been his mother, and then you just stuff a replacement in his face and think he's not going to be upset?!"

"I didn't say he had to call you Mom! I was just lettin' him know! It's not my fault you-" The circumstances were enough to make him catch his tongue. He darted another glance at the sofa, where Shadow remained asleep. Amy's narrowing eyes remained fixed on him.

"I _what_?" she demanded sharply. He blinked a few times, avoiding eye contact.

"…Nothing." Wary of waking the less than honored guest to their less than perfect marriage, he walked off and let himself into the bathroom, seconds after which Mercury came running out, to his father's side. Shadow finally stirred as the boy climbed up and nestled himself beside him, much like he used to in Maple's home.

He hadn't been asleep. Every word exchanged in the recent moments was noted and quietly tucked away for future reference. He conveyed no hint of their impact as he addressed his son.

"How did you like the mall?"

"It was cool!" Mercury used the new word he'd learned from Sonic. "We got to ride in the train and there was lots of toys and we played the Ski Ball!" The boy suddenly scowled as Amy approached. Not wanting to stoke his hostility, she stopped several feet from the sofa.

"Supper's ready, Shadow, if you'd like to try and eat some. Are you feeling any better?"

"Somewhat," he replied, leaning upright and scooting back against the pillow between him and the arm rest. Mercury clung tight and buried his face in Shadow's chest as Amy returned with a small plate of the creamy pasta. She handed it over along with a kitchen towel, just in case it didn't agree with him. Since the day he was brought there almost nothing had. "Thank you." She watched intently as he swallowed his first mouthful. He waited a moment, then cupped a hand over his mouth as an ill sound escaped, causing her to cringe. Eyes watering, he swallowed hard and forced the food back down. "…It's good," he commented after catching his breath.

"Thanks," she returned meekly. As she proceeded to set the table, Sonic emerged from the bathroom washed up and ready to eat. He nodded acknowledgement to Shadow as he scooped Misty from the floor.

"Finally keeping it down, huh?"

Shadow briefly glanced his way but didn't turn from his plate. "We'll see."

Misty was placed in her seat as Amy brought over the alfredo and a bowl of boiled baby carrots. Sonic called to Mercury as he and Amy took their seats.

"C'mon, Merc!"

"Nnn," the boy whined, remaining motionless unless his father nudged him. Finally he dragged himself down from the couch and to the table.

"For the food we are about to receive, to the High One we extend our thanks," Amy prayed, then added, "and also for letting us finally come together as a family." When she opened her eyes, both Sonic and Shadow were giving her strange looks. Her cheeks flushed rosy red as she dipped out some carrots and served them to Misty. "Want some carrots, Mercury?" She looked to her son, who turned his sour face away. Sonic slopped a few spoonfuls of chicken alfredo on the boy's plate and then filled his own. After a few minutes, half of Mercury's meal was on the table beside him. "Mercury," she took on a sterner tone, "stop pushing your noodles off the plate." She attempted to rake some of them from the edge of his dish back inward with her fork, but the toddler quickly sounded his displeasure, striking her hand with his own utensil.

"Hey!" Sonic barked, to which the boy responded by throwing his fork down. It bounced on the table with an ear-stinging clang.

"Mercury," Shadow's voice caused him to jump. "C'mere." Slowly he shrank from the table and heeded his father's bedside beckon. Shadow leaned over and whispered something into his ear as Amy rounded up the mess into a napkin. Shortly after, Mercury returned grimly to his seat, retrieved his fork, and began to eat.

Shadow observed them for a moment, then whipped his head away as intense pain suddenly stabbed through it. A mere second later, it happened again. And again. He pressed his anguished face into the cushion beneath him and clutched both hands tightly over his hooded ears. Each debilitating throb came exactly one second apart, as if guided by a sinister clock. His stomach churned, and he could hardly breathe. Then, as spontaneously as it began, it ceased. Shadow opened his eyes but hesitated to move for paranoia the pain would come back. He'd never experienced anything like that in his life, and he never wanted to again. His reeling mind began to ponder what could possibly have triggered it.

_The fork. The stupid little shit and his fork. Cram that thing through his skull and see how much he likes it._

Shadow snapped his head up. What was he _thinking_?! Guilt wrenched his heart that he'd even fathomed harming his son. The thought of Sonic with a fork protruding from his head, however, was enough to cause him to erupt into eerie laughter. Sonic, Amy, and both children were staring by the time he finished.

And then he threw up.

----------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, Shadow, c'mere!" Amy called from the bathroom door, holding one hand behind her back while waving him over with the other. "I wanna show you something!" Shadow stopped scratching his back long enough to peer in her direction, taking curious note of the upbeat edge in her voice. She'd seemed rather subdued only half an hour ago, just before Sonic left for work. He resumed scratching as he made his way over. "I got something for you," she informed him, bringing about a bottle of translucent capsules. He eyed them in rapidly waning interest.

"What is it?"

"They're for your quills." Though he was faring considerably better now that he was in his second week of recovery, a new problem had presented itself. Along with the beginnings of new quills had come an intense and incessant itching, a new level of misery. Amy described his key to relief, "You just take the little capsules and twist off the top and squeeze 'em out over your quills, and it should stop the itching."

He scratched the back of his head. "What does it smell like?"

"Uhh," she unscrewed the lid and took a whiff, "…not bad." She held the bottle up to his nose. "Right?"

"As long as it doesn't smell like flowers," he remarked, not soon to forget the lilac bath he'd received under Phil's care years back. Amy flashed a mild grin.

"So you wanna give it a try? I'll help, 'kay?" With his nod, she proceeded, "Okay, lemme read the directions. First…wash hair to remove excess dry skin. Uh, here, step in the tub, and I'll use the sprayer." Shadow frowned. He knew there had to be a catch. "If you want it to work, you need to follow the directions," she insisted, nudging him. He continued to scratch as he got in, pausing only to remove the pullover. Amy's eyes widened at the sight of his back. "Oh wow…." He blinked at her expression, suddenly very uncomfortable.

"Get it over with," he grumbled as he crouched down. Once the water was warm, she gave him a preliminary rinsing, then quickly applied a palmful of her anti-residue formula Neutrogena shampoo—the only one that didn't smell like fruit or flowers. After rinsing that out, she shut off the tap and handed him a fluffy towel.

"Gently blot dry," she read, then lowered the bottle to find him vigorously rubbing the towel over his back. She smiled in stifled amusement. "Okay, come over here and I'll put the oil on." She spread the towel on the floor and had him stand on it while she worked. Holding one of the yellowish capsules in her fingertips, she twisted its stem until it tore off, then inverted it and let its contents ooze out over his primary quill. He hardly felt a thing until she began to massage it in. That part was heaven. He closed his eyes as a smile crept across his lips. "Is it helping?" she inquired after several moments' silence.

"Yeah," he breathed.

_More than you know._

He'd joined the children on the sofa following treatment and was suffering through an episode of Spongebob Squarepants when Amy emerged from the bedroom with a familiar messenger bag in hand.

"I forgot all about this," her voice was a bit apprehensive as she pulled the box from inside. "I'm sorry…."

"Oh," Shadow's brow sank as he received it, "it's…just as well." He twisted about to face his son, folding one leg into the space between them. "Mercury…." He waited for the boy's attention to be torn from the TV before continuing, "…this is for you." Taking the box into his hands, Mercury stared for only a second before setting right to work on it.

"It's…it's skates!!" he squeaked, yanking up a pair of custom made rollerblades. His face beamed the brightest it had since the morning he was supposed to have received them. Shadow spurred through his own dismal contrast to preserve the precious bliss.

"By the time I get better you should be good enough to keep up with me," he predicted.

Mercury already had the skates on. "Can I try them now??" Shadow glanced through the window to the evening sky.

"Is there a well-lit place he can go to practice?" he asked Amy.

"Yeah, there's a skateboarding park a little ways from here." She pointed toward the wall behind him. "Just follow the walkway on this side and you'll run right into it. Want me to come along?"

"No!!" Mercury quickly answered. He jumped from the couch and tried to tug his father with him but merely slipped and fell. Shadow stood and hoisted the boy to his feet, skirting Amy an apologetic eye.

"We'll be back…." He grabbed his pullover and slipped it on just before heading out the door.

On the park grounds, Mercury was taught the basics of inline skating with careful correction and guidance. Several minutes into it, however, Shadow found himself wavering to another bout of disorientation, an all-too-familiar occurrence since his gassing. He encouraged his son to continue practicing as he made his way to a nearby bench and dropped onto it. With a steep breath, he pushed himself upright and leaned back, fixing his gaze on the rising moon as he waited for the haze to pass. Laughter filtered through the hood to him from a small group of teenagers chatting amongst themselves a short distance away. He paid them only a fleeting glance before he turned back to Mercury and drew the hood a little further over his head. Though he knew it was probably just paranoia, every time he heard a laugh now he felt like it was being directed at him.

The hood suddenly came off with a sharp jerk from behind, sending Shadow tearing to his feet, ready for a fight. He heaved a combination of relief and annoyance to lock widened eyes with Rouge the bat.

"What happened to your quills?!" her normally silky voice went breathless and shrill.

"None of your damn business," Shadow snapped, brusquely reseating himself and replacing the hood. "I told you not to sneak up on me."

"Sor-_ry_," she chastised his tone with her own, then moseyed about the bench to sit with a bounce of the chest beside him. "Your son's a cutie," she commented sweetly, propping her arms on the backrest and crossing her legs. "You bring him out here to help you meet girls?" Shadow ground his teeth for a moment before returning fire.

"Aren't you usually with Knuckles about this hour, or is he sick of you?" The jab met a sharp laugh.

"Someone's a little cranky…but then, I would be too if I looked like you." Seeing his face darken and receiving no volley of the insult, she realized she'd hit a sore spot. "Just kidding," she added gently, leaning in. "You're still a sexy beast." He remained quiet, his eyes never leaving his son. She leaned back and maintained the flow. "Knuckles has been pretty busy lately, working on some 'secret' project. He said it was nothing important when I asked him about it, but it's like he's totally preoccupied with it, so I dunno. He's just a nut." She paused for a bit, blinking, then went on. "The other night I had a dream that he was making a giant swimming pool and filling it with thousands of tiny diamonds, and I was about to dive into it but he was like 'No, those are conflict diamonds!' like that somehow made them deadly or something!" Her cackling subsided to more silence. "…You are going to be okay, aren't you?" she asked with a melting smile. Shadow cast his eyes down.

"I don't know." Though physically he seemed to be on the improve, each passing day had left his mind less and less at ease. Something somewhere was tipping off balance, too shrouded in the uncertainty of his life's direction to discern but, he could sense, was just around the corner.

"Watch me, Daddy!" Mercury shouted as he demonstrated his progress. "Watch me!"

Rouge turned back to Shadow after briefly admiring the child. "Is there anything you want to talk about? Get off your chest? Mine's got plenty of room!" It eased her conscience to see him finally crack a smile, even if only fleeting.

"I…just have a lot of crap to sort out…."

She nodded. "Mmm…I know how that goes. Well, I'll be about if you ever wanna give me a shout…'til the jeweler's exhibition leaves town, anyway." She rocked off the bench onto her feet and pivoted about, winking at him. "Take care of yourself, handsome." He gestured farewell as she took to the starry sky, an invisible plume of designer fragrance left in her wake. Leaning the back of his head against the bench top, the thoughts, memories, and emotions swirling through it funneled out, leaving a single word.

_Slut._

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Shadow's brow arched high as he stepped into his fully furnished two-bedroom apartment on the 22nd floor for the first time. To help get his new life off to a running start, Chris had secured the posh abode for him with an entire year's worth of rent. Mercury clung to his fingers as he wandered to the midst of the living room and stood surveying its contents.

"…So what do you think?" he asked after several moments' silence. His son's puzzled eyes peered up into his.

"Who lives here, Daddy?"

Shadow snorted mildly. "We do. This is our new home." He led the child on a walkthrough of the place and allowed him to choose which bedroom he wanted for his own. The young hedgehog blinked pensively as they made their way back to where they started.

"I wish Mama was here," his only reservation was expressed. Seconds later, a knock at the door sent him fleeing behind his father. He resorted to the cover of a nearby easy chair as Shadow went to answer the door. Upon seeing Amy enter the apartment, his silvery eyes took on a an ashen hue. Stupid wish. Having spent the last few weeks in her frequent company, however, had begun to erode his animosity.

"Sorry I'm late," Amy greeted, somewhat out of breath. "We were _swamped_ at the store today, so I didn't get off for lunch until twelve thirty, and then I had to run home and pick up something Sam dropped off. Hey, Mercury!" She hid her hands behind her as she neared the boy, wearing a big smile.

"Hello, Miss Amy," he mumbled, eyes to the floor.

"Look who showed up at my place today!" A raggedy parasect danced around front. Mercury lifted his head and was instantly the image of delight.

"_Mushi!!_" He snatched the plush into his arms and swung it side to side like a dog trying to rend its latest catch.

"You going to thank her?" Shadow reminded him.

"Thank you, Miss Amy!" he quickly followed. For the moment, all hard feelings had lifted. He even smiled as she placed an endearing hand on his head.

"Oh _wow_," she exclaimed, finally looking around the place. "This is niiiice! Trade ya!!" she broke into laughter.

Shadow turned and headed for the corridor. "I'll show you around."

After several minutes spent touring and chatting, Amy cited her being due back at work. She lingered in the open doorway, apprehension salting her sigh.

"Umm…would it be all right…if I continued to see Mercury?"

Shadow blinked thoughtfully. "…I'll leave it up to him." She held her breath as he called over his shoulder, "Spider…do you mind if Amy comes to visit again?" The boy looked up from where he was playing on the floor, silent. "And she can bring Misty," his father sweetened the deal.

"Okay!" Mercury consented. Amy's eyes were wet as Shadow turned back to her.

"Thank you," she whispered, hugging him fast. She closed her eyes and leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek, but instead her lips met his. Tense silence fell between them as she pulled away, realizing it had been no slip on his part. She stared for a few moments longer before stepping back and uttering an awkward goodbye. Her face was red and her steps brisk as the apartment grew distant behind her.

Amy was already in bed when Sonic returned home from his shift.

"You feelin' okay?" he asked, leaning in.

"Yeah…I'm just…tired…." Her voice seemed more troubled than weary. Sonic gave a hesitant nod.

"All right, well, I'm gonna stay up a while longer, so if you're asleep before I come to bed, g'night."

"Good night," she echoed. He leaned closer to kiss her, but her face was quickly turned aside, leaving him only her cheek. There was a brief pause before he pecked it, blinking. He then turned to the crib and kissed Misty on the forehead before heading out of the room. A sigh escaped him as he continued out onto the patio, taking a seat at the plastisol table. He was tired too; he didn't even feel like running. As he gazed up into the nearly full moon, swelling tears glistened in its gentle glow.


	12. The Cookie

**Author's Note: A couple of quick notes I wish to make:**

**1. This chapter lives up to its rating, so if you're underage, you've been warned!**

**2. Anonymous reviews are now enabled, so it's now possible to post your comments without having to create an account.**

**A very big thank you to everyone who contributed to over 50 reviews received! I'm totally beside myself with glee!! Only a few more chapters to go…hope you enjoy this one! **

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Chapter 12 – The Cookie

The cold stare of blood red eyes delivered instant severance to the jovial melody Dr. Garrett carried with him into his office. He stood motionless in the open door, his face flushed in a rush of terror at his unexpected guest. Hood loosely drawn, Shadow leaned forward in the seat where he'd been waiting and folded his arms upon the desk.

"If I could have a moment of your time…." the dry greeting did little to put Garrett at ease. Against his better judgment, the doctor fumbled behind him to push the door closed.

"…What can I do for you, Shadow?" his voice could barely be heard over the clasping latch.

"I want to know what's wrong with me…why I feel so different."

"W…well, your exposure to the toxic gas has caused your blood to-"

"Not that," the hedgehog cut in. "There's something else. Something's wrong with my head." He proceeded to describe to Garrett the horrendous pulsing headaches, which were now not only recurrent but increasing in frequency. Over the seven weeks that had passed since the day he died to Mobius, he'd suffered through five of them, with three occurring in the last eight days alone. What he didn't mention was what followed each and every one—the thoughts and inclinations to do serious harm to those around him. He wouldn't begin to feel like himself again until after the onset of another sensation, a brief, gentle tingling of the brain with which he'd become well familiar since his escape from the ARK. Clearly the two were related, but their source and triggers he needed desperately to determine.

Garrett approached the desk slowly, resting a hand on one of the chairs set before it. "We would need to conduct some tests to get an idea of what's going on and if anything can be done about it."

"I expected as much," Shadow replied, stealing a glance at the wall-mounted clock, "and since it's now closing time I trust we'll have the facility to ourselves." Garrett's passive demeanor gained a chiseled edge as fear began to give way to his long-held bitterness.

"What makes you think you can just walk in here and demand whatever you want whenever you want it? I came to treat you at the apartment as a favor to Sonic and Amy, but there is absolutely nothing obligating me to assist you any further. I have half a mind to turn you over to the authorities just for this," a trembling hand linked the word to a scar trailing up through his right eyebrow, "let alone everything else you've done! Thanks to your little stunt in the Thorndykes' household I'm twenty percent blind in this eye, which doesn't leave me inclined to do _you_ any favors."

Shadow sat very still and grim through the lecture, waiting patiently for the doctor to finish. At last he stolidly explained himself in no uncertain terms, "I'm here...because I need you to help me get this under control before I do something much worse to someone else." Garrett squinted at him as he went on. "I'm prepared to offer whatever will make it worth your while. Gouge out one of _my_ eyes if you wish."

A long silence followed between them.

"Hold your breath and don't move until I say," Garrett instructed as Shadow lay surrounded by x-ray equipment a short while later. He stepped out of the room, and after a quick buzz of radiation, hurried back in. "All right, now let's change angles."

In addition to the x-rays, intricate measurements were made of brainwave activity. Shadow straightened upright just over fifteen minutes into the process.

"It's doing it now. The normal thing."

"_Oh my word_," escaped under Garrett's breath as his gaze fixed on the monitor. "It's almost like a…." He lifted the stethoscope from his neck to his ears and placed the end on top of Shadow's head. "…I can hear it!" he stammered through an astonished laugh. Gradually the disc crept forth until nearly on his patient's brow. "Whatever it is, it's definitely coming from somewhere towards the front."

Lighted panels illuminated an equally amazing image within the x-rays after the completion of all tests. Garrett studied them as if museum paintings, mumbling to himself. "And here's where the skull was…."

"Well?" Shadow stood behind him with his arms crossed, patience dwindling. The doctor barely hid his excitement as he turned around.

"You have a tiny computer implanted inside your head," he bluntly diagnosed. "Right here." He turned again and pointed to a particularly strong presence in the exposure. "That's the source of the sensations you've been experiencing." The hedgehog's daunted eyes shifted back to him after a lengthy examination.

"W…" he hardly knew what to ask, "…why is it harming me now?"

"Based on what you've told me, it sounds as though it's malfunctioning," Garrett confirmed Shadow's fear. "I don't know if your recent experience had anything to do with it or if it's just a coincidence, but at the rate it's going, it probably won't be long before it fails completely."

"…And then what?"

"What happens after that depends on why it was put there in the first place. Do you have any idea who implanted it?"

Sorting through his mangled memories, Shadow arrived at one that invited him into its ominous depths. Amidst the aftermath of his fateful escape from the ARK, he'd managed to track down Gerald and stood in the grieving scientist's embrace.

"Mariaaaaa," the elderly man wailed, "…my precious angel……her innocent blood…." He sank to the floor as his legs lost their strength, dragging Shadow down with him. Little else could be recalled about that moment except watching his own tears part the thick dust at his feet…and the change that took place in Gerald after that day. He was disturbingly different, rambling on marginally coherent tangents about the world desiring its own destruction—which, knowing what he knew now, made a lot more sense—and beating them to it. It wasn't long after that that he approached Shadow with a strange calm in his frail voice.

"Come with me, Shadow……it's time my project was completed…."

"…Shadow?" Garrett's voice purged him from his retrospect back to the question at hand.

"Y-yeah…but he's…he's dead," the hedgehog uttered, blinking. "I have no idea why he put it in me…." His brow sank with the trailing realization that whatever records of Gerald's work hadn't been confiscated by GUN for its own use had surely been destroyed. Garrett leaned against the wall and drew a breath.

"Well, this is purely speculation, but from its location I'm guessing it was intended to provide some kind of ventromedial moderation…that is, affect your social behavior. Have you noticed any personality changes since these new sensations started occurring?" For the first few seconds, the only reply was an unsettled expression.

"Yeah," was finally forced from Shadow's otherwise frozen countenance.

"Then it's reasonable to conclude that however you're being affected by those instances will become more prevalent should the device fail."

"………Is there anything that can be done to fix it?"

"Not on this end. Brain surgery is a bit outside the scope of the Mobian Research Team," Garrett remarked with a fleeting smile. "But again, this is purely speculation. I can assure you that the device is not vital for life, but how it's actually going to affect you down the road will only be revealed with time. I'm sorry there's nothing more I can do."

Shadow's eyes found the floor as he gave a few sullen nods. "Thank you for your time, Doctor. I'm sure my end of the bargain will be fulfilled soon enough."

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Sonic the hedgehog leaned with a foot flat against the brick wall that bordered the Happy Dragon Chinese restaurant. His eyes scanned the surrounding cityscape, then checked his watch. A block away, Shadow glided rapidly around the corner into view, having come directly from the Mobian Research Center. Sonic smirked and shook his head.

"You have a way with first impressions," he quipped, pushing from the wall and heading into the restaurant. Shadow struggled to catch his breath as he followed him in, his lungs still short of their original capacity.

"I had to…take care of something," his annoyance was lost in the sound of respiration. After snaking behind the counter, both hedgehogs made their way into the kitchen.

"Hey, Hien!" Sonic greeted the manager, who glanced up from the entrée he was stir frying. "This is Shadow." He then turned and reversed the gesture. "Shadow, this is Hien, the owner of the place."

Hien shouted over the wok's racket, "He jus' now get here?"

"Uhh, we were chattin' a little out front," Sonic covered for the latecomer. Hien dumped the prepared entrée into a clamshell Styrofoam box. "This order go to the Ross. Tell them I give them extra crab rangoon for being sut good customer." The box was bagged with a large serving of rice, a container of appetizers, and two fortune cookies, then handed to Sonic, who grinned.

"Got it!"

"Shadow is go with you, right?"

"Right. Be back soon!" After returning outside, Sonic donned a company windbreaker and turned his simper to the trainee. "Shouldn't take you long to learn the neighborhood; the trickiest part is keeping from spilling anything. You ready?"

Arms folded, Shadow wondered how he'd let Amy talk him into this one. Obviously she was trying to keep them all close, but being stuck with Sonic three nights a week was pushing things at best. At least once he'd learned the area he'd get to be on his own.

"Yeah."

"All right, the Rosses are regulars, so I have a little shortcut I like to use for them." He started down the street, picking up speed, then cut into an alley and leaped onto an overhead fire escape. Shadow stayed in close pursuit as he blazed up the metal stairs onto the roof. From there they hopped from building to building and, upon reaching a particularly large gap, ground across on a sharply sloping power line. After clearing four more roofs, they bounced down on a series of awnings like pachinko chips, then made short work of the final stretch to the customer's complex.. On the third floor, Sonic rapped on the appropriate door while Shadow clung to the railing, somewhat dizzy and thoroughly winded. A young man answered, smiling brightly.

"Heeey, Sonic! What took you so long?" he teased. Sonic's grin widened as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

"Had some dead weight this time! Heh heh heh! Nah, this is…uh…" he paused upon twisting around and finding Shadow breathing deeply with his head down, then bestowed a more fitting name, "Clockwork Orange…!" He belted out a fit of laughter as Mr. Ross cocked an eyebrow at his hooded partner.

"Is he all right?"

"Oh yeah, he's just a little out of shape," Sonic slipped one more jab in before getting back to business. "Here you are. Hien included a little bonus since you're his best customers!" From inside, Mrs. Ross waved and called out as her husband expressed his thanks.

"Hi, Sonic!"

"Hey, Mrs. Ross!"

"Could we get a couple packets of sweet and sour sauce?"

"Sure thing!" The hedgehog reached into the jacket's right pocket, retrieving a handful of condiments and popping them into the bag.

"Six fifty, right?" Mr. Ross inquired.

"Right."

He handed over a ten dollar bill. "Keep the change."

"All right, thanks, man! Have a great night!"

"You too! Nice to meet you, Orange!" He waved to Shadow, now upright, who blinked and returned a half nod. Sonic enjoyed an extended chuckle after the door was shut.

"You gonna live?" he prodded with a playful nudge, ignoring the consequent glare. "C'mon, we'll walk until you catch your breath."

"…Tell me I don't have to do all that chatty shit," Shadow finally muttered as they reached ground level, eliciting yet another chuckle.

"You don't have to…but it helps," Sonic pointed out, lifting the bill in his fist. "Think of it as that much more food for your kid."

"But you could be…making millions. Everywhere you set foot you end up a household name. It's not like you _have_ to do this."

"Well, no…but the high-profile life isn't all riches and glamour. There's a lot of headache that comes along with it, and frankly, I kinda prefer to keep things simple, ya know? Some things are worth more than all the money in the world."

Shadow nodded once, brooding, and the two continued on for a while with only his wheezing breaths offsetting the silence. Finally Sonic blurted, "Didn't Dr. Garrett give you medicine for that?"

"Yeah."

"Could you use it, please?"

Shadow took a measure of humor. "What, am I annoying you?"

"I'm just sayin', sounds like it needs it!" Sonic laughed back. "I'm not about to carry you if you pass out!" He glanced over as Shadow dug through the pockets of his pullover, pulling out two handfuls of junk. In one, along with the inhaler, there was a set of keys, half a roll of Lifesavers, two crumpled dollar bills, and a Chococat coin purse. Normally Sonic would have busted out laughing at the sight of the cutesy kitty in his possession, but he had an immediate suspicion of where it had come from, and it was all he could do to keep the humor in his voice. "What are you doing with _that_??" He pointed to it with his farthest hand, twisted palm up.

"Amy gave it to me," the casual reply confirmed. Just two days ago, that same purse had been a gift to Amy, a peace offering from her husband meant to soothe their increasingly rocky relations. What the _hell_ was he doing with it?! Sonic's mind raced to stay its course.

"Ohh, must've been to match your looks!" he cracked through a less than amiable grin. Shadow's lip gnarled as he whipped the inhaler away and cast a sharp glance through narrowed eyes. He grabbed hold of the top of his hood and peeled it back, revealing over five inches of quill growth.

"This look like a cat to you?"

"My mistake!" Sonic continued to chortle. "You's the hawt dawg!!"

"Well considering your familiarity with the doghouse I should think you'd know all about that," Shadow assumed a droll tone with the retort.

The grin remained. "I know what happens to dogs who stick their snouts in other people's cookies." Both hedgehogs laughed, though neither was remotely amused.

Following his shift that night, Sonic was silent upon entering the apartment. Amy sat with her legs folded beside her on the sofa, watching Cheaters on TV. She raised an eyebrow at his stony demeanor.

"How was work?"

"Fanfuckintastic," he snapped, shoving the door shut and disappearing down the corridor.

"What happened??"

"I don't wanna talk about it," was all she heard before he shut the bathroom door. Half a second later, however, it swung back open. "Yes I do." She made a strange face as he strode back into the living room and crossed his arms. "What happened to the little Chococat purse I gave you?"

"I…gave it to Shadow," she admitted after a brief pause, hitting the mute button on the remote.

"Well it's nice to see how much it meant to you!"

"It's not that;" she attempted to explain, "he lost the cap to his bottle of medicine, so I gave him that to put the pills in."

"Uh huh," he patronized, leaning a hand against the entertainment stand, "and what else have you been giving him?" She wrinkled her nose.

"Nothing! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You sure seem to've had some cozy conversations about how you're runnin' the show around here, letting me bust my ass to please you so you can have a good laugh!"

"Wha…what did he say??" Her face was thoroughly flushed.

"He said enough!" Sonic sufficed. "This is the last time he sets foot in here, and you're not goin' to his place anymore either! If you wanna see Mercury, he comes here, alone!"

Amy balked at the conditions, able after several moments to say but one thing. "…You're being…ridiculous!!" By then he'd already returned to the bathroom and had literally shut her out. She sat huffing, near tears, but the uneven scowl soon deepened into a defiant sneer. _If that's all you're gonna trust me, then maybe I should give you a reason not to_….

The very next day, Amy secretly took the afternoon off from work and headed straight for Shadow's apartment, having decided she was going to visit Mercury on whatever terms she saw fit. Shadow blinked in surprise to open his door and find her standing there.

"Hey!" she chirped, looking sweet as a cupcake, "Thought you might wanna do lunch!"

"…Uh," the word hung in his mouth, "…you're…not working today?"

"Nope! Sonic's out with Iris, so I thought it'd be nice to hang out with you two!" His brow bent all the more.

"Mercury's with Sonic too," he informed her, to which her eyes fluttered wide. "He offered to take him out today with Misty last night. He didn't tell you?"

"N-no! Wh…uh..." she trailed off, her mind struggling to make sense of it. Shadow's eyes slid aside for a moment.

"Sorry you've come all the way out for nothing."

She quickly blinked back to him. "W—uh, well…if you want, we can still do lunch!" The offer was met with his trademark mulling leer, but she noted it to be milder than it had in years past.

"……All right," he finally decided, stepping out and pulling the door shut behind him. "Any particular place in mind?"

"Uh, I was thinking about trying this new place that opened a few weeks ago downtown. You like seafood, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay! My treat, by the way!"

"Thank you."

Several blocks from the complex, Amy gestured to a monorail station across the street.

"This way. It's pretty far from here, so we'd better use the fast train." After acquiring their tickets, they descended a long flight of steps to a narrow walkway that harbored a set of tracks on each side. In the distance, the shining eye of a fast approaching engine pierced the darkness of the lefthand tunnel. "Oh, here comes one now!" They stood by in anticipation, but the train did not decelerate, instead coursing past at a ferocious pace. Odd glances were exchanged between the hedgehogs as it quickly disappeared down the other end of the corridor. "Ooooookay…."

"They never stop on that side anymore," a man in business attire remarked. Amy giggled sheepishly.

"Oh, no wonder!"

When at last a train arrived on the other side, another unpleasant surprise awaited. Its doors slid open to utterly jam-packed cars, leaving the pair at a loss as to where to enter. With a sharp sigh, Shadow grabbed Amy's hand and squeezed on board. They found breathing space beside a pole in the midst of the car, but little more. "Wow," she murmured through a grimace, "maybe we should've stuck with the trolley after all!"

"Hmph."

As the train neared its next stop, Shadow flinched and snapped his head down to a new onslaught of knifing pulses. _Shit, not now_…. He kept silent count, knowing from experience that it would strike exactly eleven times…right before the worst part. Twelve agonizing seconds later, he opened his eyes. Now he just had to make it to the other signal…the good one…. He slapped an open palm against his head, hoping to trigger it.

"…Are you okay??" fear rattled Amy's voice.

"Headache," he growled. She nervously eyed his death grip on the pole.

"Do you need to take your medi-" her question became a gasp as more passengers forced their way into the car, pressing the hedgehogs into each other. Amy cracked an awkward smile at their sudden closeness, sure she had to be blushing. Shadow reached behind him and pulled his shirt off, to her widened eyes. "What are you doing??" Saying nothing, he braced his hands against the pole, took a deep breath, and bristled his fledgling quills. Before she could react to her realization, he set into motion, shoving himself sharply into the person behind him. She cupped a hand over her mouth as the man cried out and lunged forth, sending himself and countless others spilling out of the car like bowling pins. The doors shut moments later, leaving most of them outside. "_Shadow!_" she whispered in horror through her fingers, hoping none of the remaining passengers had witnessed his deed. He promptly replaced the shirt and ran his hands over his back to wipe the blood onto it from his quill tips.

"I am not riding that thing again," he announced after they stepped off at their destination. Amy was glad to hear it; after that incident, she didn't want to either. They reached the restaurant with only a short walk from the station, to her added relief. Shadow granted himself a couple more knocks to the head once they took their seats inside. She did her best to ignore it as she picked up a menu and cracked it open.

"What are you gonna have?" The moment reminded her of their first dinner together, in a cozy eatery they'd visited at Seabright Beach. Her lips turned upward to its comforting nostalgia; she missed the simplicity of those days. Shadow flipped his menu apart and pressed it flat against the table.

"Clams," he stated simply after skimming the contents. Amy tried to expedite her own selection, knowing he'd be prodding her to make up her mind before long. Minutes passed, however, and he said nothing. Her eyes peeked over her menu, finding him lost in thought. She didn't know about him, but there was only one thing that had been weighing her own conscience that day.

"Hey, Shadow…did you say anything about me to Sonic last night?"

His eyes staggered in recollection. "…I believe you came up, yes."

Her menu came down. "What'd you say?"

"He asked where I got the rubber cat, and I told him you gave it to me."

"Did you say anything about me laughing at him?"

"Not at all," he snorted. "I said no more than what I'd gathered from my own observation."

"Well…he doesn't want you at the apartment anymore…or me at yours." She glanced up at his silence, to a relatively stoic face. "I…guess he doesn't think it's possible for us to just be friends." The silence stretched on as he slipped back into a musing haze, to her growing dismay. "That's part of why I was so surprised that you said he had Mercury. I mean, he said that _he_ could still come over, but it seems weird that he would just…volunteer to watch him, you know?"

"After what you've told me, it makes sense," Shadow cited, his gaze still distant. "He's restructuring the terms of visitation to minimize our contact." A single wry laugh escaped him. "And yet here we are. How ironic."

Amy pressed her knuckles to her lips but couldn't hold back her own giggles. "Now we really are laughing at him!" She was still trying to contain her guilty amusement when a lanky young man stopped at their table.

"Good afternoon! My name is Joseph, and I'll be your server today. Are you two ready to order, or would you like a few minutes?"

"Oh! Oh yeah!" Amy grabbed her menu and began to survey it again. Shadow leaned back and buried his face in his hand.

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"Have a seat on the couch. I'll just be a minute," Amy assured Shadow as she scurried into the bedroom in her cocktail sauce-spattered dress and shut the door. He planted himself on the sofa's left side, as he'd formed the habit of doing during his recovery, but instead of lying down he leaned his elbows into his legs, tense. The tingly "all clear" signal to his brain still hadn't come; until it did, being anywhere alone with Amy made him nervous. A single sordid thought saturated his mind, and he was finding himself decreasingly inclined to suppress it.

Rolling his head to one side, his eyes took notice of a large photo album resting on the end table beside him. He slid it over onto his lap and lifted the cover, stopping breathless at a page filled with snapshots of the newborn Mercury. So tiny and frail, and always crying, the baby was accompanied in each picture by a cut off portion of someone, be it Amy's arms, the hem of an MRT rep's white coat, or Sonic's back. Shadow turned each page with great interest, barely noticing several minutes pass. Finally Amy emerged from the bedroom in a free flowing teal dress.

"Sorry for taking so long! Had trouble deciding," she hastily expressed, a bit relieved to see him preoccupied. Realizing he held the album in his lap, she took a seat beside him and joined in admiring their son. "Poor thing, he was so sick. I was scared to death he wasn't gonna make it."

"He was…?" Shadow's voice was soft. Amy nodded somberly. He closed the book and reached to set it back on the table when something slipped out of it onto his lap. He picked it up and turned it in his fingers, discovering it to be an origami giraffe. Amy broke into a reminiscent smile.

"Sonic made that just before I had Iris."

"Sonic made this…." His eyes narrowed on it. She nodded and started to say something else but gasped short as he crushed the paper figure in his fist.

"Don't!!" She reached to snatch it from him, but he pulled it away, and the next thing she knew she was pinned to the couch with her throat in his grip.

"Remember who claimed you first," he snarled, tightening his hold. She gagged and attempted to scream as she clawed at his hand, but it constricted all the more. The struggle finally ended with her slumping unconscious beneath him. He savored the rush, breathing deeply as her dress was brushed up her sides and her panties were stripped away.

And then came the signal.


	13. The Promise

Chapter 13 – The Promise

Silence was anything but golden to the hedgehog lying crumpled just inside his apartment door. Face buried in sleeve, he could see nothing but the image of Amy Rose, limp and disrobed on her own sofa…exactly how and where he left her. The instant the signal had traced its first path through his brain, he had found himself frozen, beholding with sudden, horrific clarity what he was about to do. Neither rationale nor remedy surfaced in the moment he'd scrambled off and away, staring at the wilted flower he dared not touch again. There was no recourse, no magic solution…nothing to do but run.

And now, the only thing to do was wait. Someone would come soon; be it Sonic, the police, or both, he didn't care…as long as they finished him off quickly. Just like Maple.

When Sonic returned home with both children a little over an hour after the fact, the apartment reeked as if it'd been sprayed with six different kinds of air freshener. His mouth deeply contorted as the putrid cocktail of fragrances overwhelmed his senses on the way inside.

"Pew!!" Misty exclaimed, while Mercury covered his nose and let out a couple of stifled coughs.

Sonic dragged one of Misty's toys in front of the door to prop it open. "What the heck happened in here?!" He peered at Amy, who sat at the dining table in a butterfly-adorned fleece robe. At first he assumed her eyes were watering from the stench; his were too. As a single tear drifted down her cheek, however, it became apparent something more was amiss. "You okay? What happened??" He took a seat next to her.

"……I…spilled some perfume," the words choked out. Her entire body was shaking. A lighthearted breath escaped Sonic as a corner of his mouth turned upward.

"Hey, it's no big deal! It'll wear off!" He glanced over at the children, who were struggling to open the window, then back to her. "Did you think I was gonna be mad?" His smile faded as he reflected on his behavior the previous night. "Um…sorry about last night," his voice hushed a bit. "I think I kinda overreacted. You're just tryin' to keep everyone on good terms, and I don't wanna ruin that. We'll work something out, okay? I promise." His attempt to console her returned an even greater surge of grief, convincing him he'd hit the mark. He pulled her close in a gentle embrace, apologizing again as his thumb stroked her silky quills. Perfume was thick on her freshly showered body as well. Just out of his sight, her robe slipped off her right thigh, revealing it to be scrubbed raw. She quickly pulled it back in place as he continued to hold her.

"Got it!!" Misty's triumphant shout caught her parents' attention. They turned to see her standing on Mercury's shoulders, just having flipped the latch on the window. Her brother wasted no time forcing the pane up.

"Hey, good job!" Sonic lauded, getting to his feet. "That was pretty clever!" He tilted his head back to his wife. "You want me to go ahead and take Mercury home, or you want him to stay?"

"No, stay," she promptly pleaded, more directed at him than the child.

"All right. If Shadow wants him, he can come and get him." He cracked a smile at her, missing the fear in her eyes as she turned away.

Following an uneaten supper and sleepless night, morning came much too fast. Amy ruefully wrenched from bed, having no desire whatsoever to go to work but being too afraid Sonic would know something was up if she didn't. She carefully eased the front door open, lingering to cast a sorrowful gaze upon her sleeping son, then pulled it to as she headed out. En route to the store, every movement in every shadow caught her eye, intensifying her terror. Her pace grew more desperate with each block until at last the glassy maw of Mega Market came into view. A shuddering sigh of relief left her as the door dutifully coasted aside and she jogged through. As fear peeled away, however, her heart again felt the serrated edge of its underlying layer of anguish. She put forth her best effort to smile and cheerfully greet her coworkers as she strode past, to the locker area in the back. Unable to make out the numbers on her combination padlock, she paused to wipe away the tears blurring her vision.

"Amy…."

She froze to the familiarity of the mild rasp a short distance behind her. After a moment she turned quickly, her padlock banging loudly against the locker as it slipped from her fingers. Her eyes transfixed on her near rapist as if those of a deer in a poacher's headlights. Standing grim in the doorway, having shed the hooded pullover, Shadow blinked to a downward gaze and shook his head. "…I'm sorry…." He raised his eyes to hers again, desiring to explain the signals and the pains and the thoughts all seemingly stemming from the berserk device in his head, but the last thing he wanted to do was sound like he was making excuses. Only a shallow sigh escaped his staggering mouth.

"How could you do that?" she finally squeaked, squinting to the strains of grief. "I trusted you!! I stuck up for you when other people said things!"

"I know…" his words overlapped hers. "…I know…."

"I thought you were..." her breath ran out and she resorted to gasping and dragging her palms across her eyes.

"I…I have a problem-"

"Then get some help!!" Now her voice was brimming with fury. "You can't just go around hurting people! It's not normal!!"

His hand left the wall and slid over his head to the tips of his half grown quills. "……I know one sure way to stop it. I'm not gonna let this happen to anyone else." With no further words, he turned and walked out, leaving Amy staring in wonder. She wasn't sure if it was what he'd said or what he hadn't, but something about it left a growing qualm in her gut. It continued to nag at her as she resumed fumbling with her padlock. She absent-mindedly spun the knob several times, paused to glance over her shoulder for an extended moment, and then let it pound back into the locker once more as she dropped it and hurried off in pursuit.

"I'm a stupid slut! I'm a stupid slut! I'm a stupid slut!!" she hissed at herself all the way out of the store. Just beyond the exit, she caught sight of Shadow a couple of blocks away. Wherever he was going, he was taking his time. She followed at a distance so as to not alert him to her presence. It wasn't long before she recognized his route as being that to his own apartment, but as he drew near the complex, he changed course and headed down an adjoining street. Losing sight of him after he turned the corner, she jogged to catch up, but upon rounding the bend herself, he was nowhere to be found. She blinked and scanned the surrounding buildings for one he might have reason to enter. The nail salon and fashion boutique didn't seem likely bets, so she peeked into the neighboring Taco Bell instead, to no avail. Just past it was the monorail station they'd visited the previous day. She hesitated, considering the incident with the passengers, but resolved to check inside anyway. The ticket machines on the ground floor stood empty; she mused that this location wasn't a popular one, and it was no wonder why. After slipping past them and down the stairs, her search came to an end.

"Sonic's right," he remarked as she quietly approached him on the meager walkway. He sat against a painted metal support beam that plunged through its center, facing the left track with his folded arms atop his knees. "You are annoyingly persistent."

Amy paid the comment no mind. "What are you doing here?" She watched him carefully, trying to read his eyes though they never strayed from the wall ahead. His response was equally empty.

"Waiting for a train."

She blinked and peered to the rails, which returned an eerie glare in the fluorescent light. "…I thought you didn't like riding the train..." It had long ago occurred to her that he faced the side on which they never stopped. She mustered her courage for the real question in his continued silence. "You're not…thinking of killing yourself, are you…?" Still he was silent. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "…Shadow?"

"I shouldn't even_ be_ alive," he answered suddenly, his torment at last spilling through. "I should never have been."

"But what about Mercury?? Think about how much you'll hurt him!!"

His eyes snapped to her at that, grievous but fierce. "You know what I think about?! Every morning when I wake up I wonder if this is going to be the day that I kill him! I wonder where I'll be the next time it hits!" He pushed to his feet, fists trembling. "I'm fucked up in the head!! If it hadn't been you last night, it would've been somebody else! It's only a matter of time…." He trailed off to the bass rumble of an approaching train. Amy blinked and beheld a narrow wedge of light cast on the left wall. Looking back to Shadow, she found him doubled over, tightly grasping his head. "…_Stop it!!_" he growled after two tense breaths, ramming his forehead into the metal beam. She gasped at his force and the resounding thud it made. Moments after the first, he did it again, then shoved himself away and staggered to the platform's edge, hands cupping his beaten brow. Heart wildly pounding, Amy didn't wait to see what he was going to do next. She raced over and threw her arms around him, pulling him to the floor just as the train began to barrel through. Her desperate grip didn't let up until it had sped safely past and they lay mounded together in the newfound silence. Slowly she withdrew and stared blinking at the thin trail of blood that had crept from his wound to the edge of his muzzle, where it mingled with his tears before dripping off. He kept his head down and eyes pressed shut as he drew several shaking breaths. Amy fought her own grief to speak.

"…I don't wanna see you hurt yourself, Shadow…."

His next words were so frail that his voice barely seemed his own. "…_I'm scared_…." It was something he had never admitted to anyone in his life aside from one other time, to Maria.

"It's okay to be scared," she assured him, "but remember that there are people who care about you. You're not alone. Whatever it is you're going through, let us help!" Her offer met a humorless snort.

"There's nothing you can do to help."

"You don't know that! You can't just give up! Please, at least try, if nothing else then for Mercury's sake! You promised me you'd take care of him!" She held her breath as his eyelids crept apart , revealing a shift of focus in his distant gaze. They sank back together with his meek nods, and in that moment, Amy found him to be the spitting image of their precious son. Her hands lovingly caressed his cheeks as she enveloped him in her embrace, gently this time, with her face just touching his swollen brow. "We'll find a way through this, whatever it takes," she whispered into his ear. "That's my promise to you…." His trembling eased into the fledgling vigor of imminent resolution, soothing her anxious heart until it matched rhythm with his own. They remained this way for several moments until he suddenly emitted a weak grunt and pulled his face from hers. Looking him over, she quickly realized that her tears had drifted into his wound. "It's knotting up," she noted, grazing it with her fingertip. "C'mon, let's go get some ice to put on it." She helped him to his feet and clung to him as he teetered a bit; he'd nearly knocked himself unconscious and was still reeling from the blows. After making their way back outside, Amy directed him to the Taco Bell, where they could get plenty of ice and wash his blood off both of them.

Atop a roof some distance away, Rouge the bat sat nibbling her breakfast, a flaky chocolate chip croissant, with a cardboard-wrapped cup of hazelnut coffee. Her sapphire eyes fluttered as they caught sight of the two hedgehogs emerging from the monorail station in close proximity. It was too far to hear what they were saying but close enough to leave her no doubts as to their identity.

"Hm. Interesting." She watched for only a moment longer before sipping another scalding mouthful.

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"Amy said you wanted to talk to me."

Chris Thorndyke maintained his welcoming smile as he confirmed Shadow's words with a firm nod. "Yeah. I'm glad you could make it." He rose and shuffled from behind his desk to the hedgehog's side, swinging the office door back open. "Come with me."

"…Does this have to do with the apartment?" Shadow inquired as they descended several floors via elevator.

"No, no it doesn't. How is it, by the way?"

"It's…great." He thought better of mentioning what Mercury had done to the walls. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it!"

On the ground floor they accessed another, special elevator restricted to authorized personnel. It took them even further down, to a floor marked only as V3, where Chris swiped his key card at a steel-enforced door. Behind it was a room filled with cardboard boxes and metal filing cabinets, along with a couple of tables and a nearly bare wall that served as the door to a giant safe. Shadow raised an eyebrow as Chris stepped up to the keypad and punched in a combination, saying only, "There's something I want to show you." The massive door was swung wide open, and the two walked inside. Chris ran his finger along several rows of inset drawers before finally selecting one and pulling it out. He thumbed through its contents and removed a large plastic expandable file folder. Shadow backed up, allowing him to lug the heavy load out of the safe and set it on a table. "Okay," Chris breathed, reaching into the folder, "have a seat." Shadow took the chair across from him as he went on. "First of all, I'd like to ask…do you think you were born to hurt people?"

Shadow blinked, caught completely off guard. He hadn't at all expected this. "……Sometimes I think I was…."

"Why is that? What separates a killer from a normal, respectable citizen?"

"…I……." He hesitated, then paused with widened eyes as Chris removed a handgun from the folder and set it before them. His gaze jumped up to the young man, who was already watching him, still awaiting an answer. A demand came instead. "What is this??"

"It's a gun," Chris replied simply, eliciting a sharp scowl. He cracked a smile to diffuse his smoldering guest and answered again, more serious. "It's a point. The only thing that separates a killer from a 'normal person' is a decision. The same thing goes for any way of life. Now, if I understand correctly, there's a device in your head that's giving you violent urges, right?" Shadow nodded to the same basic description he'd related to Amy. "So, you've got some certain urges, and even a little bloodthirsty alien heredity…so why aren't you blowing my brains out right now? It's loaded, and we're way down in the vault, so no one's gonna hear it."

Intense red eyes narrowed on Chris. "Apparently the device is in good working order today," Shadow sneered, arms crossed. Soon Chris' eyes were inches from his.

"That is a load of bullcrap and you know it. If you can control yourself now, you can do it anytime. Absolutely nothing is forcing you to act on your whims, no matter how strong they are." The flustered hedgehog jumped to his feet.

"How the hell would you know?? You're not the one with this thing stuck in your head!"

"No…" Chris admitted, turning around and clasping his hands behind him, "but my father was the highest bidder on its schematics." A stunned silence followed on the opposing end. "Some of the software recovered from the ARK has proven extremely useful in the development of the specialized programs we offer at this company." He faced Shadow again, faintly smiling. "This particular one wasn't one of them, but as soon as I heard your description I knew immediately it had to be the same thing they were describing here." He retrieved a stapled group of papers from the folder, which was quickly snatched from him. A combination of annoyance and amusement was snorted as he rubbed his resulting papercut. "If you review the details of the device's functions, you won't find anything in there about mind control," he pointed out. "It was meant to assist with ventromedial functions, to help determine right and wrong for you since you never really had anything in the way of a childhood or moral upbringing. If these documents are accurate, you've had that thing in you since shortly after birth, but apparently it underwent some post-invasion modifications. That's probably why your memories were so screwed up. No tellin' what they were hackin' away at in there!" Chris shook his head at getting no reaction from the crack at the end. Shadow obviously wasn't listening. He paced the room while the ultimate life form remained engrossed in the staggering specifications.

"…Did your business…happen to make any more?" Shadow asked at last, glancing up as he sat back down.

"Of those? No. It would've cost a fortune, and we really have no use for it," Chris explained, "and quite honestly neither do you. You don't need a machine to tell you what you should and should not be doing. You know why it's giving you so much trouble now? For one, you're used to letting it think for you, and two, you've never rooted yourself in a solid moral foundation. Your heart knows what's right, right?"

"…Right."

"Wrong!!" Chris plunged himself into an opposing chair. "It's that kind of mindset that got you into this mess! How do you think this company would be if my father let every employee go about things however he or she thought best? It'd be a nightmare! There would _be_ no company, because it would've collapsed in on itself years ago! It's not possible to run a decent business without an absolute set of standards, and our lives are no different. You can't just go around doing whatever feels right at the time. That kind of life is only asking for trouble."

Shadow rattled into a shrug. "What, then? If I can't even trust myself, who's left to trust?"

"The only source of absolute truth in this world is the God who made us. We're blessed that He cared enough about us to provide us with a firm moral standard that we can live by for our own good. I don't know much about Mobian doctrines, but ours is called the Holy Bible. It defines right and wrong for mankind through specific commandments. You've probably heard of the Ten Commandments, but there are actually a lot more…and while it's not possible to live up to them one hundred percent of the time, when you make a sincere effort to do so if makes a major difference in your life. I know that mine personally has been so much more fulfilling and peaceful than if I'd tried to go about everything my own way and stressed out over every little thing. As much stuff that has come up since I got involved in this business, I'd have gone nuts by now if I didn't have God in my life, the peace that comes from having everything confidently put in perspective."

There was a brief silence as Shadow mulled it all over.

"…Is that what you wanted to tell me?"

"That," Chris cited, pausing as he rummaged through the folder and pulled out a two-inch thick spiral-bound book, "and one more thing. Check out the page I've got flagged here." The book was handed to Shadow, who parted it to the likes of the sticky plastic tab, revealing an intricate set of technical procedures. His eyes skimmed rapidly through.

"_Deactivation_…!!" He gaped at the young executive. "It can be turned off?!"

"Apparently so, which is good because it'd be pretty dangerous to try to actually remove it, but it is still invasive…_and_," the word was stressed taut, "while it would stop the headaches, I can tell you right now that it wouldn't do you any good beyond that unless you get your act together."

"Through God…?" Shadow's tone was flat. Chris tipped his head.

"If nothing else, at least try to communicate with Him. He's not just an emotionless blob in the sky. If you sincerely seek Him, He's sure to respond."

Another, extended silence followed. Chris blinked in discomfort at the intensity of the hedgehog's musing eyes on him, to the strains of his grinding teeth. After several seconds he got up and meandered across the room to give him a chance to think some more—and glare less. He leaned in the safe's doorway and began drifting down a channel of thought himself when a single gunshot rang out, producing a deafening echo within the vault's confines. His body flinched three different directions at once before swinging around. At the table, smoke wisped from the barrel of the weapon, which remained pointed at the far wall. Shadow's finger uncurled from the trigger.

"Hm," he sounded like a scientist who had just satisfied a mild curiosity. "It really was loaded. Good to see you're not full of shit."

Chris broke into shaky laughter as he caught his breath. "Not anymore!!" he joked, tugging at the back of his pants. Shadow returned a wry grin.

That evening, on the roof of his complex, Shadow watched the sun melt into the horizon. Everything was set; in a few days he was going under the knife to have the maverick in his mind shut off for good. He still couldn't believe Chris' offer to foot what would surely be a several thousand dollar bill…and still couldn't dismiss the other things he'd said. They weighed on his heart. He'd always suspected there was more to the world than its mere existence, but the thought of reaching out to its Creator…it seemed so…distant…especially considering the fact that his own creators had been a malevolent alien and a seedy old man who wound up off the deep end. He dragged a sigh.

_I don't know if you can hear me or even want to hear from someone like me, but there's a lot more at stake than just my own interests…and I'm not even sure what's best anymore. That's all I really want…what's best. I'm in no position to ask for anything, but for Mercury's sake…for everyone involved…please let this turn out for the best_….


	14. The Unforgiven

Chapter 14 – The Unforgiven

Surgery day approached quickly, and though he wasn't particularly eager to have someone poking around in his brain on top of losing his primary quill again, Shadow looked forward to getting it over with. Despite the short notice, preparations seemed to come along smoothly; among them, special cerebral scans were made, and ample replacement blood was collected from Mercury. Everything unfolded with idealistic neatness for a change. It wasn't until he lay on the operating table, surrounded by medical staff while inhaling anesthetic, that the chilling hand of fear began to grip him again. What became of him, and ultimately, his son, would be determined in the next hour.

Amy took the day off work to accompany Mercury in the waiting area. She'd kept the event a secret from Sonic for multiple reasons, the main two being to hide the facts that Shadow had attacked her and that she was already breaking the new visitation terms by coming to him instead of the other way around. A fashion magazine was draped over her lap, but her anxious eyes were everywhere else, watching Mercury play with his parasect on the floor, checking the clock, glancing at other people in the room, and staring at the sparrows gathering just outside the window. Over ninety minutes after the procedure began, news came to her of its outcome. The surgery had gone well, she was informed, and the deactivation had been a success. He'd lost more blood than expected, but the supply they'd acquired from Mercury was making up for it just fine. It was better for him, in fact, to be rid of more of the agitated cells still left in his system.

Two days later, Shadow was allowed to return home. Amy had kept Mercury with her in the meantime, merely telling Sonic that Shadow hadn't been feeling well. She offered to keep the child longer, but Shadow insisted the apartment was too quiet without him.

"You sure?" she voiced her lingering concern, at which he carefully nodded.

"It'll be fine. He's not that hyper."

"All right, well, if anything comes up or you need anything, just give me a call, okay?" Knowing better than to wait for his response to such a request, she proceeded to hug Mercury goodbye and head for the door. He called to her as she turned the knob.

"Amy…." Slowly his head turned and his eyes met hers across the way. "…Thank you."

She stood in heartfelt silence for a moment, then gave a warm smile and nod. "That's what friends are for!" She then headed out the door.

Throughout the following week, Amy sneaked over to Shadow's place after work each day to check on him. On Saturday she was off, however, so things needed to be handled a bit differently. Just after sunset, she sat next to Sonic on the sofa with their daughter in her arms, who'd just received her bath. "Cuttin' it a little close, aren't you?" she asked him regarding the time he was supposed to be to work. With barely seven minutes to spare, making it to Happy Dragon on time would be a challenge, even for him. He continued to gaze blankly at the TV as he responded.

"…Guess I should get going." After a moment his eyes shifted over to Misty, but he was quick to blink and snap them away. The behavior wasn't like him; Amy couldn't help but notice that he'd been acting strange all day. That afternoon he'd gone out running for hours, which he had a tendency to do when something was really bothering him. He didn't seem angry, though, nor had he mentioned anything out of the ordinary to her…which in itself was also unusual.

"You okay?" she prodded as he got to his feet. He casually eyed her over his shoulder.

"Yeah, why?" Now his voice harbored an unnaturally upbeat edge.

"You're…actin' kinda weird today…."

He crossed his arms and shrugged away the notion. "I was just…just feelin' kinda antsy today, you know, restless." There was the slightest hint of bitterness in the last word. Amy glanced aside in thought.

"…Does this have to do with last night…?" At first all he returned was an airy laugh.

"No," he trailed, "you can't help it if you don't feel like it, right? Not your fault. Anyway I need to get going. See ya later!" He headed for the door in an understandable rush, but it still left her unsettled.

"Bye," she bid him quickly, not wanting to hold him up any longer. A second later, the door was shut and she was left sitting in silence. Dozing Misty leaned peacefully into her as she continued to ponder her husband's peculiar countenance. But, now that he was out of the apartment, there were other things due her attention. She carefully cradled her daughter in her arms and walked her to her crib in the bedroom, where she was lovingly tucked in. "I'll be right back," the young mother whispered just before planting a kiss. She then made her way into the kitchen and retrieved a foil-wrapped platter that had been hidden in the oven, filled with an extra helping of the chicken quesadillas she'd made for supper. Pulling the door open with her free hand, she quietly headed out into the night.

There was a renewed spark to Shadow's eyes as his door was opened. Different from those which accompanied his disturbing leer and hell-spawned fury, this one carried a more encompassing aura that seemed to reflect his very essence of life.

"Hey!" Amy greeted with an extra bit of pert, lifting the platter in her hands. "Hope you guys haven't eaten yet!"

"Your timing is perfect," Shadow remarked through a smirk as he stepped aside and allowed her in. "We were just talking about it." Setting the dish down on the solid cherry wood dining table, she grinned and shook her head.

"I'm still jealous of this place! I hope me and Sonic can get a bigger place soon. Iris is going to need a bigger bed before too much longer. And speaking of Iris…" her voice turned sheepish, "I can't stay too long 'cause she's home alone right now."

"You could've brought her," Shadow pointed out.

"She was sleepy…."

With the aroma of chicken and cheese in the air, it wasn't long before Mercury dashed from his bedroom squealing.

"_Spooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrre_!!" the battle cry rang through the room as he lunged to Amy's feet and shook his parasect at them as if dispensing pepper. She blinked down at him, startled amusement wrinkling her lips.

Shadow snorted. "I let him watch TV down in the lounge, and apparently those things are part of a show," he lamented, pointing a thumb at the plush. Amy giggled and leaned in to address the boy.

"Hey, Mercury! You hungry?" Having captured his full attention with the question, she removed the foil from the platter. "I brought quesadillas!" Mercury quickly forgot about paralyzing his prey and hopped into a seat at the table, nestling the plush in his lap. Shadow brought some plates and silverware from the kitchen and took a seat across from his son.

"Sit," he urged Amy, "unless you need to hurry back."

"Umm," she considered, "I can stay a few minutes." She sat next to Mercury as his father cut across the tortilla disc.

"Which piece do you want, Spider?" he prompted. Mercury leaned forward and inspected the wedges, then stuck his finger into one. Shadow began to work it free with a fork.

"No," Mercury voiced second thoughts, pointing to another piece, "that one." The switch drew a scowl.

"You stuck your finger in this one so this is what you get," Shadow chided, serving the dimpled wedge. Amy observed them quietly, her hands folded on the table. "I'm assuming you've already eaten," he addressed her, to which she nodded. After serving himself a slice, he blinked at it, hesitating, then looked to her. "Did you…want to say grace?"

"Oh! S-sure!" she stammered, thoroughly surprised. Mercury mimicked them as they bowed their heads and she began, "For the food we are about to receive, to the High One we extend our thanks." She looked Shadow over as he and their son began to eat. "You know, you look really good," she commented suddenly, "a lot more healthy."

He swallowed his mouthful. "This is the best I've felt since…since the execution." He clenched his fist before him and eyed it with an air of triumph. "It's good to have energy again. I'd forgotten how good it feels just to feel normal."

"Well good, I'm glad to hear it! I think that second batch of blood probably helped. You been having any more headaches? Dizzy spells?"

"No more headaches. I still get a little light headed sometimes, but nothing like before."

"And how's your breathing?"

"About the same. I don't know if it'll ever go back to how it used to be…" he acknowledged, adding a shrug, "but I'll live."

Amy nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I'm glad you're doing better! Just give it some more time, and be careful not to do anything too strenuous until you're fully healed." He cast an unusual glance her way that she couldn't quite read. She quickly dismissed it from her mind, however, in favor of more pressing issues. "Anyways…I really should be heading back. Enjoy the quesadillas, 'kay?"

"Thank you," Shadow expressed. "Best meal we've had all week."

"Thank you!" Mercury echoed through a full mouth.

"You're both very welcome!" she replied as she stood up, laying a gentle hand on her son's head. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it tomorrow, but I'll definitely stop by on Monday, okay?" Shadow nodded, taking his last bite before getting up to show her out.

She smiled to herself as she made her way down the nearly two dozen flights of stairs. It was hard to believe that, just over a week ago, he wanted to end his life. Seeing him so much better off in such a short time filled her with a deep sense of both relief and accomplishment, like she'd really made a difference—and perhaps even made the world a better place. Though a bit winded by the time she reached the bottom, she carried a little tune with her, stepping lightly along the well-lit perimeter until she rounded the corner and came to a heart-stopping halt. Her emerald eyes instantly ballooned as they found themselves locked with none other than those of Sonic. He leaned with one hand against the building, his feet casually crossed.

"Hey," he greeted as if addressing a good buddy. "Funny we should run into each other out here, isn't it?" Finding her too shocked to speak, he filled in the blanks himself. "What? What am I doing here? Well I'm glad you asked, 'cause it's a funny story, really!" He pulled his hand from the wall and folded his arms as he went on, "Yesterday I got a visit from Tails, who told me that he heard from Knuckles, who said he heard from Rouge, that you've been comin' out here. But, you know, rumors have a way of getting the facts all mixed up, and after everything that's happened I didn't wanna go and accuse you of anything, so I just figured I'd come out here and see for myself…and now I have." His voice became almost as dull as his eyes. "So I guess that's that." He then proceeded to turn and walk away, intensifying Amy's shock. She'd expected him to explode like a big, blue, quill-bearing grenade.

"Wait!" She ran after him and latched onto his arm, bringing him to a standstill. "It's not like that! I was just checking on him, that's all!" Anticipating an inquiry as to why she'd done so in the middle of the night, she prepared herself to give him a truthful answer, but he didn't ask. He didn't say anything. He didn't even look at her. Hearing voices behind her, she turned and realized that several humans were also on the premises, some of whom were staring. "…Let's talk about it after you get off, okay?" She released him once he'd granted a silent nod and watched him briefly as he headed back downtown, then hurried home herself.

Perfume greeted her as she entered the apartment, still emanating from the sofa she'd soaked with it. She hurried into the bedroom to check the crib, finding Misty sound asleep. Wandering back into the living room, a sigh escaped her, the product of both relief and dread. In just a few short hours, she'd have a lot of explaining to do. She paced the room, considering what she should and shouldn't say. It was time, she decided, to set things straight once and for all. Her heart brimming with resolutions, she plunged into the scented sofa, arms crossed, and waited.

And waited.

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"…And so finally I called the Happy Dragon when it opened this morning and talked to the owner, and he said that Sonic told him he was leaving town and that he wasn't coming back!" Amy's already quivering voice further deteriorated with each word. Shadow sat across from her on his black velvet sofa, eyeing the floor but listening carefully. "I was so…cold and mean to him," she choked on through her sobs, "and I…gave away the presents he gave me…and I did everything…he asked me not to……it's no wonder he left!" She broke down completely at that point, burying her flushed face into her lap. Shadow's brow sank as his gaze shifted to her. Her head begged to be stroked, her body, comforted in his embrace…but he couldn't bring himself to touch her. He felt too rotten, too responsible. She'd put everything dear to her on the line to offer him the helping hand he didn't even deserve…and now she was paying the price.

On the other hand…this also meant that she was no longer attached. He lacked a mother for Mercury, and now she lacked a father for Misty. The match would be perfect. She had already come to him in her hour of need; all he needed to do was build on it. The first step was to offer her his home, a refuge from her own apartment that did nothing more than remind her of Sonic. From there he could work to convince her what a no good dirtbag Sonic was for what he'd done to her. Once she'd been adequately conditioned and the time was right, he'd then offer himself. It was only natural.

Shadow leaned in and placed a hand on Amy's back, but when he opened his mouth no words would come out. He sat as if suspended in time, his once sharp focus dissolving into a deep haze. In wandering his mind's void he found himself on a threshold far from that on which he'd started. He beheld it, considering, then blinked as his vision resumed its conscious function and he realized Amy was looking up at him.

"…I…" he floundered for something practical to say, "…I'm going to…go check on the…kids…." Hastening to his feet, he rubbed the stitches on the back of his head as he made his way to Mercury's room. The door was nudged open and he peered inside, where Mercury was making little figures out of green Play-Doh and setting them in front of Misty to squash with her fist. He voiced dramatic sound effects as she flattened each one, sending her into continuous fits of giggles. Shadow observed the joyful scene with a troubled heart; it wouldn't be long before Misty met the same anguish from which his son was just beginning to recover.

Amy's puffy eyes followed him as he pulled the door shut and slowly stepped back into the living room, absorbed in his thoughts. "They doing all right?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"They're fine," he confirmed. "They get along well."

She glanced about as a notion drummed through her mind. "…He wouldn't just leave Iris like that. He'll have to come back to see her sometime!" Her now hopeful gaze returned to him, but he didn't share her denial-fueled optimism.

"Are you thirsty?" he changed the subject as he headed into the kitchen.

"…A little…."

He tugged open the fridge and retrieved a small bottle of water. "I'm assuming you don't have an appetite," was added as he handed it to her. She shook her head, looking almost nauseated at the very idea.

After filling Shadow's listening ear with all the details, fears, hopes, and heartache she could muster, Amy finally succumbed to sheer exhaustion and spent the rest of the evening asleep on his sofa. Shadow draped a blanket over her, and as night fell he let Misty make use of Mercury's bed, since Mercury always slept with him anyway. Finally, he got some much needed rest of his own.

The sun had not yet risen over Station Square when Shadow crouched beside Amy and woke her with a silent nudge. She flinched sharply upon realizing where she still was and who was before her, reliving for an instant the trauma of her recent attack. "Sorry," Shadow muttered, backing off a bit, then softly stated, "I have a favor to ask of you." She blinked in semi-awareness as he continued, "If you could keep Mercury today, I have some business to take care of."

"When will you be back?" she inquired, propping herself up by her elbow. He thought for a moment.

"By sundown if not sooner. If you want to stay here that's fine." With her sullen nod, he stood and proceeded to head out. Only the glow of his skates illuminated his way across the grassy outskirts of the complex, and navigating the maze of alleys downtown was hardly better. Dawn was casting its blessed aura by the time he reached his destination. He now stood at the edge of the concrete park in which Mercury had been given his first skating lesson. Once he'd caught his breath, he strode to a familiar bench along the northern wall, where Rouge the bat sat waiting. Her bored eyes drifted to him as he neared, and her laced fingers slid down her crossed legs until they came to rest atop her knee.

"You rang?"

Shadow cut right to the chase. "I would like to know for what reason you've seen fit to meddle in matters that don't concern you."

Her brow arched in mock surprise as she laughed her reply. "Excuse me?"

"I find it hard to believe that a government spy would so carelessly divulge details affecting someone to one of his closest contacts."

She only smirked all the more. "You're going to have to be a little more specific." A tightened fist lifted.

"I'm about to get a _lot_ more specific," he growled through his teeth. She blinked and shifted away, resting one hand beside her.

"Maybe it did concern me. Did you ever think of that?" The notion wasn't immediately countered, so she went on. "No offense, but have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? You've been a wreck ever since you got involved with that girl. I was only looking out for your best interest."

"Oh, I see," his arms folded as he answered patronizingly. "What a friend, keeping me out of trouble. Perhaps I should return the favor. I never did feel quite right about that incident in Soleanna, and I'm sure GUN would appreciate an explanation." His piercing glare found her already fair cheeks turning pasty pale. "Unless…I've got this all wrong…." She shifted again, uncrossing her legs and pressing her knees tight as a pout formed on her lips.

"…I was just…a little jealous, okay?" She blinked several times, her eyes far from him. His arms fell.

"Of what??"

"I don't know……just felt like I was getting closed out of the loop, I guess. Everyone else had their 'normal' life while we were always the misfits who had our own special way of relating to each other…and now it's like you're all caught up in their world, on their terms, and there's nothing special left between us. I'm just…back to being that bat girl you know…."

Shadow stared for a few seconds longer before breaking into brief laughter as he twisted about. Rouge blinked at his stitches' sharp contrast against the shaved skin, then cast her eyes down. The silence lingered until he spoke, his gaze skimming the length of the skating surface before them.

"I don't think you have to worry about me fitting in anytime soon." He then turned back to her as she glanced up. "If that's all this is about, I'd like to move on to the matter of rectification." Her head dropped again.

"…What is it you want?"

"Just some information."

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The setting sun granted a pinkish hue that well suited the rosy peace throughout the Mobian village of Knothole. Furry children played just outside of a meager eatery in which Sonic sat talking over a quick meal with a pot-bellied purple walrus.

"I don't mean to be…all up in your business," the walrus mumbled through the potato wedges he continued to stuff into his mouth, "but you don't…" then paused to chew, "seem yourself." He went on after finally swallowing, "I mean, I can tell you're happy to be back and all, but you seem really…unhappy too…."

Sonic continued to gaze at his half-eaten chili dog. "Well, you know how it goes…when you leave someplace you leave the good stuff right along with the bad, so it's kinda rough…but there comes a time when you just need to make a fresh start, you know?"

"Ohh, I see. Anything I can do to help?"

"Nah, just bear with me for a while." He cracked a smile while making fleeting eye contact, then returned to his meal. "…So, uh, whatever happened with that lighting project you were doing for the palace?"

"Oh, that?" the walrus bellowed into laughter and delved into a story about the many mishaps he'd suffered on the job. Sonic barely heard any of it; his mind was with the life he'd left behind, reminiscing the sweet pink sparkle of his daughter's eyes that he'd never see again. He'd decided that it would be never because he couldn't even stand to look into them long enough to say goodbye. It wasn't what he wanted; it was just what was best. There was no point in fighting to maintain a relationship when he could see what Amy didn't have the heart to tell him—that it was already over. So, he'd made it easy for her by giving her up so she could be happy instead of trying to carry on their farce of a marriage for his sake. Now she could have what she really wanted, and he could go back to a carefree life.

Sonic glanced out the propped-open door of the restaurant, then did a double take as a familiar combination of colors caught his eye. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment to clear the tears from them and looked again. Sure enough, Shadow was standing across the way from the place, speaking with the children. Soon one of them pointed his way. Sonic heaved a sigh of disgust as the other hedgehog approached the establishment.

"You gotta be kidding me!!"

The walrus froze mid-sentence. "No, there really were that many!" Following Sonic's eyes, he blinked at the newcomer. "Who's that?" There wasn't time to answer before Shadow stepped through the door. He tilted his head as he addressed his target.

"For being famous you're a pain in the ass to track down."

A deep scowl etching his face, Sonic jarred himself up from the table. There would be no cool emotional front this time. He turned to face his dining companion.

"Rotor, would you mind excusing us for a sec?" Wide-eyed, the walrus quickly got up and made his way to the door, nervously eyeing Shadow as he brushed past him outside. Sensing the tension, the robin tending the counter disappeared into the kitchen. Sonic then began quite bitterly, "Why can't you just leave me alone?!" His arm stroked wide before him. "You won! I opened my home to you, and you robbed it! Congratulations! Now how about leaving me in the festering remnants of my life in peace?"

"Oh _please_!" Shadow sneered back. "When your closest friends are all dead because of you and your blood's poisoned and your lungs are ruined and your quills fall out and you have to have your head sliced open just to make the pain stop, then you can talk to me about your 'festering' life! Excuse me for making it come short of a silver platter for once, but you're not going to _blame me_ for what you choose to throw away." The finger he'd crookedly pointed fell back to his side. "I know she hasn't gone about things in the brightest manner, but Amy's never been untrue to you…and I think you're making a big mistake. It's clear how much she cares for you and how deeply she's hurt."

Sonic squinted at the words. "Then why couldn't _she_ come tell me that?"

"She doesn't know I'm here." Widened eyes were fixed on Shadow as he continued, "I'm not going to ask you to go back; that's your own prerogative. I just thought you should know."

Both hedgehogs turned as a female voice with a strong southern drawl cut in, "Excuse me—this guy botherin' you, Sonic?" In the doorway stood a gingery rabbit, half of whose body was pure machine. She pounded a metallic fist into her open hand while Rotor cowered just behind her, daring only a quick peek. Shadow raised an eyebrow at them as Sonic responded.

"No, it's okay, Bunnie. He's…he's a friend." The last word received especially warm emphasis, enough to make Shadow glance back at him. Sonic transferred his silent gratitude in the brief moment their eyes locked.

Shadow then headed for the door. "I was just leaving anyway." His side swept eyes traveled up and down Bunnie's unusual body as he walked out past her and Rotor. She returned a perturbed, almost offended expression.

"Whew, finally!" Rotor exclaimed afterward, waddling inside. He hurried over to the table where the food still sat and proceeded to finish enjoying his meal.

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Amy stared with bulging eyes at her apartment door, from which she thought she heard the distinct sound of someone sticking a key in. Her gape grew twice in size as it opened moments later and Sonic stepped inside. Faintly smiling, he blinked at her a couple of times, then lifted a variety of Mobian wildflowers in his hand.

"I picked ya some flowers," he greeted sheepishly. She walked up to him still wearing her stunned expression and gazed somewhat blankly at the gift as he placed it in her hand and gently wrapped her fingers around the stems. Finally her lip began to quiver and her eyes snapped up to his, warning of her fury. She shrieked at him through her teeth as the flowers were slapped down over his head.

"_Don't you ever do that to me again!!!_" Sonic cringed and closed his eyes as she continued to assault him with the bouquet until nothing remained of it but a handful of mutilated stems. Finally she stopped and stood simply huffing, and he slowly cracked open one eye. Her rage melting under her tears, she dropped the stems and threw her arms around her husband. He was relieved to return the gesture. His own tears trailed the back of her neck as they held each other tight.

"I won't…." he pledged, then pushed her back by the shoulders to look at her eye to eye. "Let's start with a clean slate, okay? No more assumptions, and no more secrets." A bittersweet smile crossed Amy's lips as she nodded agreement. He wrapped an arm back around her, pressing his forehead into hers, then lifted her chin into their first kiss since the day their ordeal began.

"Where's Daddy?" Mercury's nearby voice caused Sonic to jump. The boy's hands gripped the armrest of the sofa from which he watched the couple.

"…Geez, didn't know you were there!" Sonic stammered as he held a hand to his chest.

"Shadow asked me to watch him while he took care of something," Amy mentioned, "but he was supposed to have been back by now…."

Sonic furrowed his brow. "He hasn't…been back?" It seemed rather unusual, considering he'd left Knothole almost an hour after their exchange. He stood pondering and stringing together a number of separate factors. "…Crap," he suddenly said, pulling open the door. "I'll be right back."

"Wait, where are you going??" Amy hurried after and grabbed the edge of the door.

"I need to check something," was the only explanation as Sonic sped off into the night.

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Sitting in the corner with his knees bent and arms crossed, Shadow lifted his head as the door to his holding cell was unlocked. A Mobian leopard donning security attire leaned in and gestured for him to come.

"Looks like you're free to go," the official informed him as he approached, much to his surprise.

"I am…?" As they made their way to the front of the Mobius Monorail Station Security Center, he found Sonic leaning against the counter. His jaw dropped a bit.

"This is for you," Sonic stated, handing over a document with an embossed golden seal that had been signed by a Princess Sally Acorn. Shadow's eyes skimmed the page.

"What is this?"

"It's your get out of jail free card," the blue hedgehog replied with a teasing air. "Be sure not to lose it!"

"…_Royal pardon_…." Shadow whispered the printed words just above his breath.

Sonic shrugged. "Couldn't let you upstage me with that whole Amy thing," he joked. Shadow remained frozen in place, reading the formal details, until Sonic called from the security center door. "Hey, you gonna stand there all day? C'mon, your kid's waitin'!"


	15. The Sweet Escape

Part 3 – Feasting

Chapter 15 – The Sweet Escape

A solitary tear escaped five year old Mercury as he blinked awake, but one of many that he'd shed while he slept. His bleary eyes found themselves staring into those of his half-sister, who lay beside him on the floor.

"What's wrong?" Misty inquired. "How come you're crying?" Mercury squinted at her and rolled over.

"I'm not," he mumbled.

"Yes you are! I saw you!" She climbed onto his side and stuck her nose back in his face. He brushed her off with his arm as he sat up.

"…I just had a…sad dream."

The lavender hedgehog quickly rolled upright. "About what?"

"My mom…." he answered, pausing to sniff and swallow as he suppressed more tears. "I dreamed that I was with her in the garden…."

"Really?" Misty curled her lips inward as she pondered the garden she'd heard so much about over the past couple of years. "How come your mom can't leave the garden?" Her brother continued to gaze at the floor.

"I don't know…." A brief silence passed between them as he mulled it over. "…I guess because if she left the garden then no one would be taking care of it…."

"Where is the garden?"

"Mobius."

"Do you know how to get there?"

Mercury tilted his head. "Kinda…."

"Well…" Misty mused, "why doncha go see her?" The suggestion was met with a curious stare. He'd never considered it. "And I'll go too!" She hopped to her feet.

"—Right now?"

"Yeah!!"

"W—but," her sibling stammered, "Miss Amy said to just take a nap…."

Misty giggled. "We did that already! C'mon, let's go! Don't you wanna go?"

"Well, yeah, but…we should prob'ly write a note or something first…."

"Oh yeah!" Misty trotted across the living room of the new home into which her family had moved a little over a year ago. Entering the kitchen, she reached up and felt the countertop for the notepad that was usually there. Mercury stepped over and pulled it down for her, along with a turquoise gel ink pen. She dropped the pad on the floor and sat beside it as she began to write:

_ DEAR mOm,_

_ me and mucuRy aRe Going to the GaRdon. to see his mOm._

_ BE bacK Soon LOVE IRIS_

Mercury wrinkled his nose at the note. "That's not how you spell my name…."

"Close enough!" she asserted dismissively, tearing the page free and tacking it to the fridge while her brother replaced the pad and pen. Seconds later, as they both stood just outside the front door of the house, she turned expectantly to him. "Okay, which way?"

"Um…." The older child paused more out of hesitation than recollection. Going out by themselves at this age wasn't unusual, but they'd never ventured more than a few miles from either's home before. "First…we have to get to that one station." He led her downtown, where they boarded a trolley and rode for several miles until Mercury caught sight of a familiar landmark. "There!" He pointed to the west entrance of the massive Mobius Monorail Station, then took his sister into his arms and hopped off while the trolley was still in motion, eliciting shouts of disapproval from its operator. Mercury only glanced back for a second before Misty was set down and they continued on their way.

Inside the station, Mercury balked at the coins in Misty's hand. "That's all you have??"

"Hey!" her tone reflected her offense. "It took me a whole month to get this!"

The boy's eyes grew even wider. "That's all the allowance you get in a month?!"

"I don't get allowance!" she explained impatiently. "Daddy just buys me what I want! I got this from the couch!" Mercury maintained his crooked leer at her for a few seconds longer before retrieving the quarter and two dimes from her hand, leaving her with the three pennies. He wrapped them with the dollar bill in his other hand. "Hope we have enough…."

"That'll be a dollar seventy five," the clerk behind the ticket window charged. The young hedgehog released the money onto the counter.

"This is all we have," he lamented.

The clerk leaned forward a bit to get a better view. "Oh, I didn't realize there were two of you. That would actually bring it up to three fifty." Her brow faulted as she unraveled the bill. "…Where are your parents? Is your mom here with you, or your dad?"

"We're going to see his mom," Misty declared, straining on her toes to see over the counter. Despite having been built with Mobians in mind, it was still quite a reach.

"Your mother is on the other side?" There was a brief silence after they both nodded. "All right, here you go." Two tickets were kindly granted in exchange for the insufficient funds. Mercury beamed as he accepted them.

"Thank you!!"

Misty mimicked the Fire Nation salute of Avatar, pressing her fist into her open palm as she bowed. "Thank you very much!"

After emerging from the station on the Mobius side of the portal, Mercury leaned against the building and held one foot in his hand, folding the hinge-mounted strip of wheels from the side of his custom-built skate underneath it until it locked into place. Misty teetered to an arm-crossed jig as he repeated the process with the other skate.

"Okay, let's go," he prompted, gracefully pushing off. Though he was still a far cry from his father's breakneck skating skills, he was now able to maneuver quite well and maintain a steady, decent pace. The siblings had traveled nearly a mile from the station when Mercury peered behind him and realized that Misty was barely keeping up. Usually it was no trouble for her to pass him. He coasted to a stop, calling to her, "What's wrong? How come you're going so slow?" She held her hands to her bottom as she caught up and marched in place beside him.

"I have to go potty!"

Mercury drew a breath and heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Why didn't you go at the station?"

"I didn't have to go then!"

"Well…" he breathed, glancing ahead, "wait 'til we get to the forest and go there." He ignored his sister's whines as he set back into motion.

A short time later, while Misty did her business in the thick of the woods, Mercury wandered along the edge of the clearing, inspecting the ground. He crouched beside a few clusters of wrinkly beige fungi and checked them closely before beginning to pluck them from the moist earth. Misty ventured back to his side just as he completed his harvest. "Look what I found!" He extended his cupped hands and shook them, prompting her to offer her own. "Here, take 'em." The spongy treasure piled into her tiny palms until the last of it tumbled over their sides.

"Mushrooms?"

"Yeah. These are called morels. They're really good!" As they trekked back onto the trail he added, "Mama used to cook 'em with porkchops."

"What do they taste like?"

"They're sweet, kinda like honey. Hey, maybe she can cook these and then you can try 'em!"

"Yeah!!"

They resumed their journey enthusiastically, but Mercury soon came to a stop and looked about. "Hmm…." The route was a bit fuzzy from this point. "Uhh…I think it's this way……no, wait……maybe……no……yeah. This way." After carrying on for nearly an hour, he slowed to a halt once more. "This doesn't look familiar…."

Misty grunted. "Are we lost?"

"…I think we should go back and take that other path," he resolved, pivoting about. Now it was Misty's turn to sigh.

After some extensive backtracking and Misty's appetite-quelling first taste of a raw morel, at long last they found their way. Mercury's eyes shined like polished silver as the burly branches of a well known oak came into view.

"We're here!!" He unlatched the wheels of his skates and folded them aside, then sprinted the rest of the way to his former home's front door. It was unlocked and slightly ajar; with a heavy push he forced it open, closing his eyes as dirt briefly rained down. His heart pounded as he stepped inside. "Mama?"

Everything was covered in dust. Both hedgehogs left a trail of footprints as they made their way into the living room. Misty continued on through while Mercury stood silent in its midst, blinking. All was just as he remembered it, but as such, it brought him no comfort. A dark stain remained on the hardwood floor where he'd last seen Maple. He stared at it pensively, then turned aside and walked over to the yawning closet door, gently pushing it closed for the final time. Stepping back across the room to the bed he and his father had shared, he leaned over and picked up a wooden toy that peaked out from under its mattress. It was a bullfrog on wheels that was great at making an awful racket as it rolled along the floor. Aside from Mushi, it had been his favorite. He rubbed his fingers over its well-worn features in somber reminiscence.

"Ewwwww!!" Misty exclaimed from the kitchen, slamming the refrigerator back shut. She coughed and quickly retreated to her brother's side, who raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, where'd you put the mushrooms?"

"Over there," she answered, pointing to the table. Mercury grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and blew a dead spider out of it before raking the morels in. He paused upon noticing a dome-covered glass platter in the center of the table, which harbored the rock-hard remnants of his birthday cake under a layer of dead mold. His frown deepened as his eyes lingered on the dish.

"…Let's go look at the garden," he finally said as he set the bowl down. He led Misty outside, where the meager flower bed, once brimming with begonias, lay in a weed-choked entanglement. He hadn't noticed it in his excitement on the way in. Hopping up the twisted oak roots that gripped the bluff, only a meek breath escaped his slacked jaw as he took in the ratty overgrowth that was the garden. Scattered scores of feral crops stood in silent watch over the remains of their unharvested ancestors amidst an audience of towering weeds and grass. Mercury strained to hold in the tears stinging his eyes, not desiring to further cast himself the crybaby in front of his sister.

"What's that big thing?" Misty asked, her finger aimed at a distant rock that jutted well above the vegetation.

"I dunno…." Mercury started toward it, stretching his neck to see over the grass as he pressed through. Misty grabbed hold of his arm and blindly trailed behind. Upon reaching the stone, both blinked at its crudely carved inscription of the letters R.I.P.

"…How come it says 'rip' on it?" the younger sibling wondered. Her brother shook his head.

"I dunno."

The shouts of a distant voice caught both their ears. "Mercurrry! Iriiiis!" Misty eagerly jumped about as Amy climbed into view from below the bluff's ledge.

"It's Mommy!" She scurried back through the grass and happily attached herself to her mother's side. Mercury remained by the makeshift tombstone, looking on with glassy eyes before turning away.

"You two aren't old enough to be going this far by yourselves," he heard her chide as she approached. She paused with slightly widened eyes upon realizing that the rock stood in the very spot where she'd fought for her life against Maple. "…Mercury? You okay, baby?" His back still to her, he gave only a few quick, silent nods. She beheld him dolefully for a moment, then walked up and gently put her arms around him. Tears were already streaming down as he returned the gesture, burying his face and gripping tight. A smile stretched Amy's lips as she rested her cheek on his head and tightened her embrace. The tender moment soon turned dark, however. Amy opened her eyes as a massive shadow suddenly crept over the entire length of the garden. Peering skyward, she gasped loudly.

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A fragile silence hovered just outside of the Comfort Zone furniture store as Sonic and Shadow emerged from the establishment dripping wet. Though both faces were flushed, Shadow wore a fuming scowl while Sonic brandished a heavily contorted simper. It wasn't long before the blue hedgehog was unable to contain it any longer and erupted into a barrage of cackling laughter.

"I swear I didn't know it was a waterbed!!"

"Neither did I," Shadow snapped, "but you didn't see me throwing myself on it quills first!"

Sonic doubled over. "Y-you shoulda seen the look on your face…!" He fell to his side on the concrete, barely able to breathe through his amusement. Shadow kept walking. "Hhh-hey, but look at it this way—now you definitely know what kind of bed _not_ to get Mercury!" he added as he clambered to his feet and caught up.

"You've been a great help," sarcasm saturated Shadow's voice.

"At least they were cool about it," Sonic ignored the jab. "I'll just hafta do an endorsement or something to pay 'em back. We're about due for an income boost anyway." His words were overlapped by the distinctive buzz of his watch's built-in cel phone. He depressed the speaker button. "What's up?"

"Sonic!" Amy sounded almost frantic. "Come out to the world portal! I just saw one of Eggman's battleships!"

"Eggman, huh?" After a moment's thought, Sonic's cocky tone abruptly dissipated, "--The heck you doin' way out there? Aren't you supposed to be watchin' the kids?"

"It's a long story. I've got them with me. Just hurry up and get down here!"

"All right, be there in a sec!" He ended the call and breathed a quick sigh. If it were Tails and Knuckles there with him, he wouldn't think twice about rattling off an invitation, because he knew exactly what the response would be. Dealing with Shadow, however, would take a more careful approach. Sonic turned to address him but found himself standing alone.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" Shadow shouted from nearly a block away. "Let's get moving!" Sonic sprinted after him with a sheepish grin.

On the Mobius end of the portal, Amy gave the briefing. "I saw the ship fly overhead when I was on Maple's farm, and it looked like it landed a few miles away. I had to come back here just to get a signal for my phone. It might still be out there, though!"

"It was _huge_!" Mercury exclaimed.

Sonic gestured in his usual pomp. "We'll go check it out!"

"Daddy," Misty called in her sweet asking voice, "can I come?" Amy wrapped a hand over the girl's shoulder.

"Iris, no!"

"Aw, let her come," Sonic compelled. "It's about time she learned how to crack an Egg! She'll be fine. I'll take care of her." After a few moments' hesitation, Amy released the child to him.

Mercury peered anxiously up at his father. "Can I come too??" Shadow stood with his arms crossed, his eyes jumping from him to Sonic and Misty and back.

"…Stay in sight," he required. The boy jumped with excitement.

"YEAH!!"

"I guess I'll just wait here by myself…." Amy remarked. Mercury turned to her, clasping his hands behind him.

"Don't worry, Mother. We'll be right back!" The word drew startled glances from both fathers. Amy warmly smiled and nodded.

"Be careful! All of you!"

"No sweat!" carried Sonic's parting words as the four headed out.

A quick search of the Crawdad Creek vicinity yielded somewhat surprising results. Sonic whistled as the group beheld Dr. Eggman's most enormous carrier ever.

"That ain't no battleship!"

"I wonder what it's doing in the valley," Shadow pondered.

Sonic charged forth. "One way to find out!"

There were no robots on patrol around the carrier, so sneaking on board was easy enough. On the main deck, the hedgehogs spotted a floating mechanical sentry about the size of a basketball doing its rounds. Sonic clapped a hand on Misty's shoulder. "All right, time to put your homing attack lessons to the real test! Have at that little guy there!" Biting her lip, Misty shuffled toward the bot, her father calling reminders after her. "Keep your head tucked in, and remember to keep your quills tight once you launch!" After a couple of preparatory bobs, she leapt into the air, balled up, and hurled herself into the machine, smashing it soundly. Bits of circuitry and loose bolts clattered to the deck, followed by the child, who tumbled clumsily upon landing. Sonic applauded with a wide grin. "Great job! That's my girl! Just keep working on your landings!" He pulled her to her feet and patted her on the head as she giggled with glee.

"I wanna do the next one!!" Mercury declared. It wasn't long before they encountered it. The boy gasped an excited breath and waved his fists in front of him. "Oh!! Okay! Okay! Okay!" Shadow watched with a raised eyebrow while Sonic belted out a chuckle. Having conquered his nerves, Mercury came at the sentry fast, barely having time to roll up before reaching it. A foot whipped back out and slammed down on its target, sending it crashing into pieces on the floor. He used the force of impact to thrust himself back upward and gracefully landed clear of the debris. Shadow granted an approving nod as his son eagerly turned to him.

"Pffft," saliva sprinkled Sonic's downplay of the performance. "Not much of a contest when there's almost two years of age difference."

"Didn't realize there _was_ a contest," Shadow returned, slightly sour. "Only a coward puts his child where _he_ should be." The blue hedgehog huffed into a fleeting gape.

"That some kind of challenge?!"

"If it's a challenge you want, the last one to the bridge gets to pay for the next trip to Chuck E. Cheese's."

"Hah! You're on!!" Sonic was about to assume the racing position when he paused and turned to the children. "You two stay here for now!" He then turned back and began the countdown as Shadow uncrossed his arms. "Three…two…one…GO!" The kids blinked as their fathers tore off across the ship. A whiny groan escaped Mercury.

"I wanna see the bridge…."

"How come a ship has a bridge? Where does it go?" Misty asked as she wandered off. Finding an unmarked button on the cabin wall, she depressed it, and the door beside it lifted. "Hey, cool, look what I found!" Her brother trotted over and lit up at the cargo room full of power rings.

"Wow!!"

While the children helped themselves to the treasure, Sonic and Shadow continued their lengthy race. Just past the forecastle they split into separate paths, with Sonic staying above deck while Shadow cut through the interior. As the black hedgehog glided past one of the many rooms along the corridor, the display on its massive monitor caused him to skid to a halt and double back. The second look confirmed his initial impression of what he'd seen—an overview of the ship's schematics. He caught his breath as he stepped closer and reviewed the data.

Several minutes later, he joined Sonic just outside of the bridge, who snorted at his rival's uncharacteristic tardiness.

"What, d'you get lost?"

"Change of plans," Shadow stated simply, gesturing with his head for Sonic to follow. They ended up deep below deck, navigating the sweltering maze of engine rooms. "We should be close…."

"What?" Sonic shouted against the noise.

"It should be right around here." Shadow led the way through two more doors, and at last they reached their destination.

"Oh wow," Sonic uttered in the surprising silence of the immense room, stepping toward the circular structure in its midst. It appeared to be some kind of receptacle, fitted into the top of which were six familiar gemstones. "Chaos Emeralds! Oh, he's definitely up to no good!"

"He's probably tracking the final emerald in this area," Shadow surmised. As they neared the stand, the entire room suddenly began to shudder. Both whipped their heads about, half expecting a trap, but it soon became apparent what was occurring.

"The ship's taking off!"

"Here's our shortcut back to the bridge." Shadow grabbed hold of one of the emeralds and wrenched it free of its prongs. Each hedgehog gathered three of the gems, then proceeded to manipulate their mysterious powers. "Chaos Control!" A bright glow instantly consumed Shadow, into which he seemed to vanish as he warped from the room. Sonic followed his lead.

"Chaos Control!" All at once his surroundings distorted into surrealistic blobs, and their colors rippled together as if reflections on an oil slick. He focused his thoughts and floated upward through ceilings and walls until arriving within the confines of the bridge cabin. As his body rematerialized, he found himself staring at the back of Dr. Eggman, who stood at the helm with the seventh emerald in hand.

"Set course for Washington DC!" he commanded his robots, then chuckled to himself as he turned around. "Let's see that irritating hedgehog stop me n-AAAH!!! How did you get in here?!?"

"Hiya, Doc!" Sonic greeted with a trophy smile, holding up one of the emeralds. "Found your little stash!"

Eggman didn't waste a second. "Get that hedgehog!!" he barked at the pilots, all three of which turned and propelled themselves on little wheels at their target. Sonic made short work of them, but the distraction had allowed Eggman to slip outside. Running out after him, he spotted him on the upper deck just as he ascended in his personal aircraft. From a safe height, Eggman broadcasted his orders, "Killipede!! Come forth!" Seconds later, a large panel opened in the wall behind him, and a humongous mechanical millipede emerged. The madman pointed a finger at Sonic. "Destroy him!!"

Sonic blinked as Killipede scrambled down the wall to his level with surprising speed, its infrared eyes seeking to lock on. "Wuh oh!" He darted several feet ahead of the monster, then turned and launched himself in a homing attack at its metal head. Despite a direct hit, he found himself bouncing harmlessly off. A second attack, against one of its fifteen segments, yielded the same results. Worse still, it stayed on his every move; he had to jump again right after landing to avoid being caught between its razor-edged mandibles. "Boy, you're a nasty one!" The fight spilled all the way down to the main deck, but still Sonic found no weak spots. Finally Shadow made the scene, unleashing a homing and chaos attack combo on its tail. Again there was no damage, but the move was enough to get the robot's attention. It came at him by rapidly curling itself backwards to strike from above—giving Sonic his chance. He smashed into its vulnerable underbelly like a cannonball, damaging the internal assembly and disabling the legs on the impacted segment. Killipede's upright body writhed wildly for a few moments before it slammed back down on its feet and resumed pursuing the blue hedgehog. The dead legs' sharp ends made a horrendous sound on the metal deck as Killipede simply dragged them along. "Where the heck have you been??" Sonic shouted to Shadow, who pointed a thumb toward the bridge.

"I took the kids to a safer place," he answered, circling about for another strike at the enemy's tail.

"Oh, good, in that case, lemme draw it towards the bow, and then you should have a clear shot!" Sonic raced forward to the airship's forecastle, and like clockwork, Killipede straightly clambered after him. Shadow sped up and slammed into its tail once again, and again it curled back for a counterattack. Sonic seized the opportunity to take out another segment. "Yeah, it's working! Keep it up!!" After repeating the tactic several more times, only a few segments of Killipede's body remained functional. When it could no longer effectively chase its targets because more legs were dragging than running, it abruptly changed strategy, curling itself into a massive metal ball. Its working legs pushed it into motion after the hedgehogs in an attempt to crush them under its weight. "Crap!" Sonic grunted after his homing attack deflected from its side, "How're we supposed to get at it now?" He barely dashed out of the way as Killipede rolled through, clearly picking up speed.

From just outside the bridge, Mercury and Misty watched their fathers battle the giant arthropod. What had looked like a sure victory was becoming more and more uncertain. The elder sibling glanced into the cabin.

"…I have an idea!" He yanked the door open and scurried inside, his sister tailing close behind. Standing at the control panel, he was just tall enough to see its myriad of levers, knobs, and buttons. "Remember that game we used to play called Labyrinth, with the ball and the holes?"

"Kinda," Misty replied, her brow sinking.

"Maybe we can do that with the robot down there! One of these sticks probably makes the ship move, right?" He grabbed one and pulled it toward him. Suddenly the nose of the carrier tipped skyward, sending unsecured objects flying to the back wall. Outside, Sonic and Shadow landed on the rear wall of the forecastle just moments before the rolled up Killipede slammed into it between them.

"Uah…! Okay, not funny!" Sonic stammered, leaning himself away from the wall.

At the back of the bridge, Misty screamed. "_Mercury_!!!" Her brother still clung to the stick, struggling to pull himself back to the panel so he could correct the ship. His free hand grasped the lever beside it and held tight as he forced the other back forward. At last, the carrier leveled itself, now several hundred feet higher than it'd started. Mercury then proceeded to fiddle with the rest of the levers, gently. One of them tilted the ship left to right.

"Here we go! Hey, Iris, go outside and look and tell me which way to lean it!" Misty crawled from the mess in the back and pushed the cabin door open, peering out.

"Ummm," she returned, squinting, "…go left!"

"Okay!" With a nudge of the appropriate lever, the carrier gradually listed portward. Sonic and Shadow were keen to take advantage of the shift this time, using homing attacks to knock their opponent toward the ship's edge. The robot's feet dug into the deck, resisting them.

Misty stood tippy-toed and stretched her neck to see. "Mmmmm…now go right!" Mercury complied, creating a starboard list. "More!!" The lever crept further right, and the sound of sliding objects was heard again.

"Hang on!" he urged Misty, who tightly clung to the handle of the door. On the forecastle, Killipede could no longer counter the increasing gravitational pull; its body rolled across the deck and crashed through the railing clear off the ship. Sonic and Shadow held to the opposite rail.

"You got it!!" Misty yelled. Mercury quickly brought the carrier back level as he breathed a sigh of relief. Sonic and Shadow cautiously approached the starboard side, making sure the mecha menace was indeed gone.

On the carrier's highest level, Dr. Eggman took careful aim at the hedgehogs on the forecastle from a laser cannon turret. Its crosshairs in place, he squeezed the trigger, initiating its powerful charge.

"I've got you now!!" he bleated.

"Oh no you _don't_!!" At the familiar voice, Eggman looked up just in time to see an oversized mallet smash into the barrel of the cannon. He yelped and scrambled away as Amy continued her assault. The redirected cannon fired its shot into a communications tower, which crumbled and showered down onto the decks below. Satisfied with the results, Amy then turned her wrath on him. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he fled for the bridge. Just inside the cabin, he locked the door and stood catching his breath, until suddenly he became aware that two young hedgehogs were staring wide-eyed at him. After a few moments, Mercury sounded off.

"Get him!!!" Both attacked ferociously, one shattering the glass panel of the door as he ducked and the other nailing him right in the gut. He emitted a long, loud sound that somewhat resembled a whale call. Staggering back to his feet, the deranged scientist then ran screaming across the bridge and escaped out the other side. He panted heavily as he threw himself into his waiting aircraft and blasted away. The children watched from the door, laughing. Amy arrived soon after, reaching through the broken glass to unlock the door and let herself in.

"Mommy!!" Misty squealed gleefully as she scampered up and hugged her mom's leg. Mercury was happy to follow.

"Amy?!" Sonic's voice called from the other door. "What are you doing here?"

"I got worried," she admitted sheepishly.

Shadow stepped in from behind Sonic. "Looks like Eggman got away."

An explosion in the next instant rocked the carrier, nearly shaking the hedgehogs off their feet.

"What the heck was that?!" Sonic rushed out and surveyed the ship for the source of the noise. On an upper deck, one of the pole-mounted propellers was completely missing, having been blown off by hostile fire. Not far behind them, military fighter jets closed in. "Aw crap!" He quickly ducked back into the bridge. "We're under attack! We must've passed through the world portal while we were busy with that millipede, and now the military's after us! They think Eggman's still running this thing!"

Shadow checked the various communications devices. "Everything's dead." Another missile impacted nearby, cracking the thick glass in the front of the bridge. "We can escape with the Chaos Emeralds."

Sonic rubbed his chin. "Yeah, but what if this thing crashes into the city? People could be killed! We need to try to land it! I'm gonna go out and see if I can get 'em to stop attacking. Amy, take the kids deeper inside where they'll be safe. Shadow, you think you can keep this thing airborne?" The black hedgehog turned back to the control panel after casting a fleeting glare.

"I'll figure it out." As he looked over the instruments, Mercury leaned in and pointed to the levers he'd used.

"This one makes it go up and down, and this one makes it turn, and this one makes it tilt! I dunno what the rest of this stuff does." Amy waited on him nearby while Sonic headed back outside and Misty cracked open and peeked from the damaged door. Another projectile struck the ship, the force of its explosion slamming the door against the lavender hedgehog's tiny body. Amy shrieked.

"_IRIS!!!_" She raced over to find her daughter surrounded by scores of rings. The child sat up and rubbed her head.

"Owie…."

Amy blinked dazedly as several of the rings absorbed into her own body. "Oh my gosh…." She snatched the girl into her arms and then grabbed Mercury. "C'mon, we need to get downstairs!"

Left to himself, Shadow tested the controls. Remaining on board was against his own impulses, but he understood Sonic's concern. Down there were thousands of other people's Marias and Mercuries, counting on them to do the right thing instead of just looking out for themselves. He drew a breath.

_You haven't let me down…and I trust You to come through again, for what's best_….

On the uppermost deck, Sonic hopped and waved and did everything he could think of to get the pilots' attention. Even he had difficulty seeing through the smoke that plumed from the damaged carrier, however. Another two missiles were fired; one was destroyed by the automated defense system Shadow had managed to activate, but the other hit its mark, taking out two more propellers. An unsettling creak emanated from the ship as it began to list. Sonic's eyes widened as a huge black helicopter emerged from the thickening smoke, less than twenty feet away. Surely they had to see him now! He formed an X with his arms and stroked them outward, signaling a cease fire. The chopper hovered for several tense moments, then fell back. All he could see after that was smoke…but seconds later the roar of jets filled his ears as they tore past, having disengaged. Sonic wiped the mounting sweat from his brow.

Back at the bridge, Shadow struggled to keep the carrier upright. "Can't see a damn thing," he grumbled as Sonic stepped back into the cabin. Smoke almost completely blocked the field of view.

"Here, lemme see if I can tame the fires." Sonic bailed back out and approached the worst of the smoldering areas of damage. He ran intense circles around it until the ebony clouds were reduced to a corkscrewing wisp. Glancing up to the bridge, he could now see Shadow clearly, who gave him a thumbs up.

With each passing minute the carrier listed just a bit more, but hope shined in the form of seemingly endless rows of lights, marking the runways of the Station Square International Airport. All of the hedgehogs were again gathered in the bridge, watching Shadow make the wounded approach with bated breath. Air traffic had been diverted, and dozens of fire trucks waited on the scene; now it was just a matter of landing. With crippled maneuverability, he was forced to wind downward in steep circles. Once the ground was close enough to taste, he sent the ship into its final dive. Its keel struck the corner of a building on its way down, tearing away a chunk of it and sending the aircraft tipping onto its side. Everyone inside cried out as they hit the starboard wall…and then it was over. After a couple of quick breaths, Sonic broke into laughter. "Whew!! Great ride, huh? Everyone okay?" With all five's safe arrival confirmed, the hedgehogs ventured outside.

Hundreds of people flocked up to the carrier, cheering. Sonic grinned widely and waved, Amy kept an arm around each child, and Shadow stood with his arms crossed as he skimmed the sea of faces. Among them, he spotted Chris, who beamed brightly, and Sam, who shook his head in disbelief. Even Phil and Andrea were present, shouting and whistling hand in hand. Shadow couldn't help but crack a smile.

As the hedgehogs jumped from the lowest level to the ground, countless camera flashes dazzled from every angle. It was only fitting that one of those shots make the cover of TIME magazine the following week, just above the headline FAMILY OF HEROES.

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**Author's Note:** Hope you enjoyed these near and dear fruits of my blood, sweat, and tears! Though I'm saddened to reach the end, this journey has been a truly wonderful experience, and I thank you all for helping make it that way! Your support through each and every chapter has been deeply touching and greatly appreciated, much more than words can convey.

I would also like to extend a special thanks to my best friend, known here on the site as Sonic Rose, who both inspired and encouraged me to pull these stories out of my head and put them into virtual print! She helped me overcome my fears and fulfill a long held-dream, for which I will always be grateful. A new friend I made along the way, known here as shadowamypunk, has been a tremendous source of encouragement as well! In addition to their outstanding support, both of them have graciously supplied excellent illustrations for my stories, which can be found on their respective DA accounts. By all means, please check out their work and let them know what you think!

And now to take a little breather, lol! I'm going to see about finishing up Sonic on my bro's XBox360, and then you just might see a story featuring Silver next! Hehe! Take care 'til next time, everyone, and God bless!


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